The Clash of Narratives in Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Wartime Cultural Diplomacy

The war in Ukraine has plunged the West into a spiral of insecurity driven by the presence of a war “at the European doorstep”, without a certain and predictable conclusion. At the same time, in the Western Balkans region, there is a resurgence of nationalist sentiments based on ethnic and cultural divisions that risk adding another destabilizing factor to the European neighbourhood. These different scenarios have an element in common: the use of culture in the narrative accompanying these forms of conflict, whether latent or open. Culture is used to define one’s national identity in an exclusionary manner towards minorities in the country; to persuade the audience on the legitimacy of political instances; to foment cultural hatred that seemed dormant. Finally, culture in its material manifestations is targeted as a military objective to be physically destroyed, to discredit the enemy and assert one’s narrative of events. This volume seeks to expose all the ways in which culture is leveraged and narrated in modern conflicts and political competitions, focusing primarily on Ukraine and the countries of the Western Balkans. The choice of this geographical location is driven not only by the urgency to provide interpretative tools for ongoing events but also by the importance these countries hold for the stability of the European continent and the future prospects of their integration into the European Union.