NATIONAL IDENTITY IN CONDITIONS OF EXISTENTIAL THREAT

Abstract

The article outlines the peculiarities of national identity formation in conditions of existential threat. Experiencing different forms of national solidarity, people learn common beliefs that underlie national identity. Beliefs are seen as representations of the world that are believed to be true, regardless of whether this has been objectively verified. National-level beliefs can be considered as common ideas of compatriots, valuable and emotionally significant for them, which relate to topics and problems important to them, and also contribute to positive self-esteem and a sense of their own uniqueness of members of the national community. The transformation of beliefs is caused by large-scale events, in particular threatening ones. A change in deep-rooted shared beliefs implies a change in the meanings and meanings of national identity. Changes in shared beliefs take place over a long period of time. Even when there are events related to a rapid change in the security conditions, with the aggravation or mitigation of national threats – the beginning of a war or the establishment of a lasting peace, common beliefs change gradually. Threats to the country can be external, internal, global. An existential threat to the country is a threat that problematizes its very existence as a state, respectively, and the associated national identity. Shared beliefs and national identity can be militarized to varying degrees; it manifests itself in a complex of beliefs and feelings. For example, if a country is experiencing a significant military threat, then a set of beliefs of forced militarism is formed in it. In the conditions of an existential threat, these beliefs are represented in the minds of citizens, and they are also broadcast in the education system in the process of forming the national identity of schoolchildren. Historical and modern examples are given.