EUROPEAN INTEGRATION AS A VALUE-CULTURAL CHALLENGE OF WARTIME
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31392/cult.alm.2025.2.56Keywords:
Europeanization, cultural policy, war, Normative Power Europe, conflict adaptation, integration, cultural identityїAbstract
The article explores Ukraine's European integration during a full-scale war, analyzing this process from a distinct value-cultural perspective. The author examines cultural policy as a space of symbolic interaction between Ukraine and the European Union and as a crucial mechanism for adapting to the European normative-value model. It is shown that the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU in 2014 and Ukraine's receipt of candidate status for EU accession in June 2022 served as a powerful external stimulus for modernizing Ukrainian cultural institutions and practices, facilitating a shift from post-Soviet patterns to European standards. Amid wartime, the cultural sphere becomes an area of existential resistance, societal consolidation, and the formation of a new Ukrainian identity aligned with European values. The article employs theoretical frameworks of Europeanization under conflict conditions, differentiated Europeanization and the concept of Normative Power Europe to analyze how war impacts the implementation of integration reforms and the symbolic legitimization of Ukraine's European choice. Particular attention is given to specific EU-supported programs aimed at supporting Ukrainian culture, such as «Creative Europe», «ZMINA: Rebuilding» and «Culture Helps» which serve as tools for adapting Ukraine’s cultural sector to EU standards and requirements.
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