Statehood and survival: Ukrainian identity in East-Central European diasporas

This article examines how the presence – or absence – of a functioning nation-state shapes national identity in diaspora. Drawing on comparative fieldwork among Ukrainian communities in Romania, Moldova, Transnistria, Poland, and the Czech Republic, it shows that identity is sustained not through constant affirmation, but at critical junctures – via education, institutions, commemorations, and symbolic acts. Where the Ukrainian state maintains engagement, identity proves resilient; where it withdraws, identity fades or realigns with host-state frameworks. The findings challenge essentialist views of ethnicity and language as sufficient markers of belonging. Instead, identity emerges as a strategic enactment shaped by institutional scaffolding and state presence. The article contributes to debates in nationalism and diaspora studies by refining theories of identity construction and proposing a typology of diaspora–state relations, ranging from ‘symbolic continuity’ to ‘institutional displacement’.