THE POVERTY OF PRIMORDIALISM AND THE RELATIVITY OF CONSTRUCTIVISM – PROBLEMOUS ISSUES OF APPROACHES TO THE RESEARCH OF NATIONAL IDENTITY

Abstract

The article analyzes two main scientific approaches to the study of national identity – primordialism and social constructivism. Based on the classical scientific works of foreign scholars E. Shils, С. Geertz, B. Ambedkar, P. Van den Bergh, J.D. Eller and R.M. Coghlan, P. James, P. Berger, T. Luckman and modern Ukrainian researchers M. Stepyko, M. Kozlovets and N. Kostenko, it is shown that primordialism, despite its influence on the scientific discourse of the mid-20th century, has lost its explanatory potential due to essentialism, a priori statements and irrationality. At the same time, social constructivism has opened up wider opportunities for studying the essence, factors of formation and socio-political dynamics of identity, but has revealed several problematic issues, in particular regarding the boundaries and mechanisms of construction, especially in the context of the formation of identity policy. The methodological basis of the article is comparative and historical-genetic methods, discourse analysis and elements of a systemic approach. As a result, it is substantiated that modern studies of national identity require going beyond primordialist reductions, avoiding constructivist relativizations and finding effective solutions for the formation of sustainable and effective state policy in the field of national identity affirmation, as well as in the field of information security and nationalpatriotic education.