Digital media practices in a conflict setting: Ukraine after the Maidan

Abstract

This article is a qualitative investigation of the mechanisms of reproduction of national identity narratives through digital media practices of hybrid populations in a conflict context using the example of Ukraine after the outbreak of the conflict with Russia. The article is based on a collection of 14 in-depth interviews with Russian-speaking Ukrainians from various regions. The findings point to several conclusions: first, hybrid/heterogeneous media practices are not always accompanied by high engagement. However, diverse heterogeneous and non-diverse homogeneous practices characterized by high engagement produced opposing narratives of national identity in the post-change Ukraine: a nation-centered interpretation of national identity homogeneous versus a universalistic post-national interpretation heterogeneous.