Borderland in the context of national identity: the phenomenon of kresy

author: Natalya Korol

Urgency of the research. The drama and scale of the situation in which Ukraine found itself with the beginning of an active period of Russian aggression necessitate a paradigmatic understanding of matters that allow us to understand the behaviour (and motivation) of our geopolitical neighbors. In this research, we will describe Poland and the determinants of its worldview and, therefore, its geopolitical self-positioning.

Target setting. One of the structural elements of national identity is the concept of territory (homeland). In the Polish national consciousness, the concept of its own territory, and with it the concept of a homeland, is very often marginalized. To replace him in the epicentre of humanitarian studios, the concept of “kresy” arises.

Actual scientific researches and issues analysis. The historiography of kresy studies can be structured according to the bipolar principle. On the one hand, a set of studies performed in a nostalgic-apologetic direction. The opposite pole of humanitarian discourse is represented by attempts to comprehend the phenomenon of “kresy” by applying the anti-colonial paradigm.

The research objective. Given the historical overlay of territories that are both “native land/homeland” for Ukrainians and kresy/borderland for the Polish nation, it is worth attempting to rethink the etymology and historical evolution of the concept of “kresy” in the context of its significance for national self-identification. It is also advisable to outline within which methodological approaches it is possible to carry out a scientific study of the phenomenon of kresy as a space of borderland and an element of national identity.

The statement of basic materials. To consider the correlation between the concept of the fatherland and the concept of kresy as a border territory itself (borderland), it is worth turning to the historical past in order to understand the process of evolution of the semantic and conceptual content of the concept of “kresy” Each stage of changing the semantic content of the concept of kresy can be correlated with a certain methodological paradigm, which allows us to comprehend its role in the history, culture, and politics of Poland. Accordingly, the kresy phenomenon can be considered in various paradigms: grand narrative, memory studies, and postcolonial.

Conclusions. Kresy embodies the idea of the quintessence of “Polishness” sometimes replacing the concept of the homeland and national territory. Given the modern civilizational and cultural situation and the new establishment of the boundaries of civilizations, the joint efforts of scientists in rethinking the borderland (and kresy) as a space of a common civilizational frontier are necessary.

Keywords: borderland, national identity, national consciousness, Kresy, postcolonial discourse, narrative

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