Instituto de Estudios Políticos y Derecho Público "Dr. Humberto J. La Roche"
de la Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas de la Universidad del Zulia
Maracaibo, Venezuela
Publicación cientíca en formato digital
ISSN-Versión Impresa 0798-1406 / ISSN-Versión on line 2542-3185
Depósito legal pp 197402ZU34
ppi 201502ZU4645
Vol.40 N° 74
2022
Recibido el 26/06/2022 Aceptado el 12/09/2022
ISSN 0798- 1406 ~ De pó si to le gal pp 198502ZU132
Cues tio nes Po lí ti cas
La re vis ta Cues tio nes Po lí ti cas, es una pu bli ca ción aus pi cia da por el Ins ti tu to
de Es tu dios Po lí ti cos y De re cho Pú bli co “Dr. Hum ber to J. La Ro che” (IEPDP) de la Fa-
cul tad de Cien cias Ju rí di cas y Po lí ti cas de la Uni ver si dad del Zu lia.
En tre sus ob je ti vos fi gu ran: con tri buir con el pro gre so cien tí fi co de las Cien cias
Hu ma nas y So cia les, a tra vés de la di vul ga ción de los re sul ta dos lo gra dos por sus in ves-
ti ga do res; es ti mu lar la in ves ti ga ción en es tas áreas del sa ber; y pro pi ciar la pre sen ta-
ción, dis cu sión y con fron ta ción de las ideas y avan ces cien tí fi cos con com pro mi so so cial.
Cues tio nes Po lí ti cas apa re ce dos ve ces al año y pu bli ca tra ba jos ori gi na les con
avan ces o re sul ta dos de in ves ti ga ción en las áreas de Cien cia Po lí ti ca y De re cho Pú bli-
co, los cua les son so me ti dos a la con si de ra ción de ár bi tros ca li fi ca dos.
ESTA PU BLI CA CIÓN APA RE CE RE SE ÑA DA, EN TRE OTROS ÍN DI CES, EN
:
Re vicyhLUZ, In ter na tio nal Po li ti cal Scien ce Abs tracts, Re vis ta In ter ame ri ca na de
Bi blio gra fía, en el Cen tro La ti no ame ri ca no para el De sa rrol lo (CLAD), en Bi blio-
gra fía So cio Eco nó mi ca de Ve ne zue la de RE DIN SE, In ter na tio nal Bi blio graphy of
Po li ti cal Scien ce, Re vencyt, His pa nic Ame ri can Pe rio di cals In dex/HAPI), Ul ri ch’s
Pe rio di cals Di rec tory, EBS CO. Se en cuen tra acre di ta da al Re gis tro de Pu bli ca cio-
nes Cien tí fi cas y Tec no ló gi cas Ve ne zo la nas del FO NA CIT, La tin dex.
Di rec to ra
L
OIRALITH
M. C
HIRINOS
P
ORTILLO
Co mi té Edi tor
Eduviges Morales Villalobos
Fabiola Tavares Duarte
Ma ría Eu ge nia Soto Hernández
Nila Leal González
Carmen Pérez Baralt
Co mi té Ase sor
Pedro Bracho Grand
J. M. Del ga do Ocan do
José Ce rra da
Ri car do Com bel las
An gel Lom bar di
Die ter Nohlen
Al fre do Ra mos Ji mé nez
Go ran Ther born
Frie drich Welsch
Asis ten tes Ad mi nis tra ti vos
Joan López Urdaneta y Nil da Ma rín
Re vis ta Cues tio nes Po lí ti cas. Av. Gua ji ra. Uni ver si dad del Zu lia. Nú cleo Hu ma nís ti co. Fa-
cul tad de Cien cias Ju rí di cas y Po lí ti cas. Ins ti tu to de Es tu dios Po lí ti cos y De re cho Pú bli co
“Dr. Hum ber to J. La Ro che”. Ma ra cai bo, Ve ne zue la. E- mail: cues tio nes po li ti cas@gmail.
com ~ loi chi ri nos por til lo@gmail.com. Te le fax: 58- 0261- 4127018.
Vol. 40, Nº 74 (2022), 363-382
IEPDP-Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas - LUZ
Narratives vs Ideology:
new Dimensions of the Formation
of National Unity in Ukraine
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46398/cuestpol.4074.19
Tetiana Syvak *
Olena Rachynska **
Viktoriia Popova ***
Viktoriia Koltun ****
Nataliia Grynchuk *****
Abstract
The aim of the article is to justify innovative approaches for
ensuring the self-suciency of the social system and the integrity
of society. The article is based on the interdisciplinary approach
and such general and special scientic methods: analysis,
synthesis, functional, axiological, comparative, generalization,
system analysis, modelling. It has been concluded that a narrative
approach has to be used to ensure the consolidation of the nation and
the establishment of consensus between institutionally dierent subjects
of public administration. The types of narratives have been singled out:
meta-narrative, strategic narrative, narrative, counter-narrative; and
the structure of the narrative has been oered: process from the object’s
position, from the subject’s position and as a synthetic narrative. The authors
have substantiated strategic communications as technologies of narrative
dissemination and have developed their concept. The authors of the article
have proved that strategic communications ensure the synchronization of
* Doctor of Science of Public Administration, Docent, Professor of the Department Public Management
and Administration, State University of Telecommunications, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCІD ID: https//orcid.
org/0000-0003-4319-9825
** Candidate of Sciences in Public Administration, Ph.D. in Public Administration, Leading Specialist of
the Department of Political Corruption Prevention, National Agency on Corruption Prevention, Kyiv,
Ukraine. ORCІD ID: https//orcid.org/0000-0003-0974-0534
*** Deputy Head of the Division of Methodology of Resource Payments, Rent and Local Taxes and Fees
from Legal Entities of the Unit of Administration of Resource Payments, Rent and Local Taxes and
Fees from Legal Entities, Tax Administration Department, State Tax Service of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine.
ORCІD ID: https//orcid.org/0000-0003-3210-1802
**** Doctor of Science of Public Administration, Professor, Head of the Department of Regional Policy,
Educational and Scientic Institute of Public Administration and Public Service, Taras Shevchenko
National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCID ID: https//orcid.org/0000-0001-8432-873X
***** Candidate of Science in Economy, Ph.D. in Economy, Docent, Associate Professor of the Department
of Regional Policy, Educational and Scientic Institute of Public Administration and Public Service,
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCІD ID: https//orcid.org/0000-
0002-8516-2417
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Narratives vs Ideology: new Dimensions of the Formation of National Unity in Ukraine
narratives and their coordination with the national idea and government
actions in the process of information and communication activities of the
state.
Keywords: ideology of the state; narrative; consolidation of society;
ideological management; strategic management.
Narrativas versus ideología: nuevas dimensiones de la
formación de la unidad nacional en Ucrania
Resumen
El objetivo del artículo es justicar enfoques innovadores para garantizar
la autosuciencia del sistema social y la integridad de la sociedad. El
artículo se basa en el enfoque interdisciplinario y en tales métodos
cientícos generales y especiales: análisis, síntesis, funcional, axiológico,
comparativo, generalización, análisis de sistemas, modelización. Se ha
llegado a la conclusión de que hay que utilizar un enfoque narrativo para
garantizar la consolidación de la nación y el establecimiento de un consenso
entre sujetos institucionalmente diferentes de la administración pública. Se
han señalado los tipos de narrativas: metanarrativa, narrativa estratégica,
narrativa, contranarrativa; y se ha revelado la estructura de la narrativa:
proceso desde la posición del objeto, desde la posición del sujeto y como
narrativa sintética. Los autores han fundamentado las comunicaciones
estratégicas como tecnologías de difusión narrativa y han desarrollado su
concepto. Los autores del artículo han demostrado que las comunicaciones
estratégicas garantizan la sincronización de las narrativas y su coordinación
con la idea nacional y las acciones gubernamentales en el proceso de las
actividades de información y comunicación del Estado.
Palabras clave: ideología del estado; narrativa política; consolidación
de la sociedad; gestión ideológica; dirección estratégica.
Introduction
The problem of consolidation of society is current for all countries of
the world. In Ukraine it has been actualized during the last years, although
it permanently emerges and manifests itself in the most radical and
revolutionary way, which forms certain historical milestones and stages of
development of the state. National unity. Because the state, as a universal
political form of organization of society, is dened by the presence of
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Vol. 40 Nº 74 (2022): 363-382
sovereign power, the ability to implement its powers on a certain territory
through a system of specially created governing bodies.
The state carries out political, economic and ideological leadership
of society, and also the management of public aairs. It is ideology that
serves as the connecting link that contributes to the consolidation of the
nation, its socio-economic and cultural development, and only the state
can provide a good ideological management through the development and
implementation of national strategy.
However, according to Article 15 of the Constitution of Ukraine, no
ideology can be recognized by the state as obligatory and, conversely,
public life is based on ideological diversity (The Constitution of Ukraine,
1996). Therefore, occurs a dilemma: how to ensure the proper level of
ideological governance in Ukraine in the absence or even abandonment
of state ideology. An analogue or substitute for the state ideology must be
found that would ensure the formation and implementation of the national
ideology and consolidation of the society around this process. Some steps in
this direction are laid down in the same Constitution of Ukraine.
According to the amendments made in 2019 (law Ukraine No. 2680-VII,
2019) to the Constitution of Ukraine, including Article 112, the President
of Ukraine is the guarantor of the implementation of the strategic course
of the state to obtain full membership of Ukraine in the European Union
and the Organization of the Euro-Atlantic Treaty, which is a priority at the
current stage of the country’s development.
Thus, the aim of the article is to justify innovative approaches and new
measures for ensuring the self-suciency of the social system, which is
Ukrainian society, and its unity for the formation and implementation of
strategic goals of the state, which can become a theoretical basis for the
improvement of ideological governance in Ukraine.
1. Methodology of the study
In the process of writing the scientic article a number of general and
special scientic methods of research was used. The article is based on the
interdisciplinary approach, in particular the results of scientic research on
the theory of state and law, linguistics, philosophy, ideology, narratology,
communicative science and public administration. In order to investigate
and clarify the common and distinctive gures between ideology and
narratives and their modern understanding, the methods of analysis and
synthesis were used.
With the help of the functional method and system analysis we were
able to examine the philosophical and ideological value of the narratives in
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Narratives vs Ideology: new Dimensions of the Formation of National Unity in Ukraine
the state-making process, as well as to identify their place and role in the
process of achieving the strategic goals of the state. The axiological method
made it possible to justify the importance of the ideological management
of the state as a valuable core that consolidates the society and ensures
the non-conictual dissemination of the basic ideas for corriguing and
constructing the social behavior of the society.
The comparative method and the method of analogy made it possible
to reveal the peculiarities of the use of narratives in the sphere of security
and defense and to adapt them to the ideological management of the state.
Methods of generalization and modeling were used to develop the concept
of strategic communications as a technological component of the support
for the narratives.
2. Results and discussion
2.1. Ideology vs. Narratives: general and distinguishing in the
context of the maintenance of ideological state management
During the period of its existence every society produces, develops and
maintains its own system of spiritual values - philosophical (attitudinal,
religious), ideological, ethical, artistic, etc., which the state must regard
as objective factors and direct state, especially ideological management at
their preservation and multiplication. When the state does not take into
account general spiritual values, which the society shares, it can lead to
opposition or conict and strengthen the confrontation between the society
and the state. To avoid such conicts, as well as to ensure cooperation
between the state apparatus and the society, the ideological component
must be intensively developed.
The state ideology is a whole systematic totality of ideas, values and
beliefs that are the basis for the consensus formation of society by uniting
individual groups of the population, the basis for notication and assessment
of people’s attitude to reality and state, the basis for determining the
goals of socio-cultural development at a particular historical stage (Public
administration, 2018). Ideology plays a leading role in state creation,
because in this process it is dened as a totality, a set of theoretically
grounded ideas, principles, norms, regulations, ideals, goals, which are
however perceived by both citizens and the state apparatus.
Ideology in the state-making process is a combination of ideas, beliefs,
a system of views shared by the majority of society to unite around a
common goal, aimed at the consolidation of sovereignty and economic
independence, national security, territorial integrity of the country, etc.
(Public administration, 2018).
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Ideology as a whole is: a mental construct generated by national,
collective, individual consciousness; an intellectual product produced by
ideocracy, which is “materialized” in political programs, scientic, publicist
works, mass media, and in verbal rhetoric, etc; a public integrator and
coordinator in the centrally aimed consciousness of certain social groups.
As the state is the integrator and coordinator of social being, so ideology is
the coordinator and integrator of the conscious and worldview elds, which
interact and interdepend on the needs, interests and values of human life
(Muzychenko, 2012).
The main task of ideology is to explain how these or other phenomena
became what they are; to determine the directions of development of
these phenomena (a guide to action) to achieve the determined strategic
goals. Therefore, the state ideology should be based on national values that
dene objects, phenomena and their properties that satisfy the needs of
an individual, the society and the state in safe existence and progressive
development (Horbulin, 2016). National values are conceptual, ideological
foundations, consoling factors and important living principles in the
process of ensuring ecient social development.
It should also be noted that the existence of the state and the nation must be
viewed through the prism of its valuable core, which consolidate society: national
security, spiritual welfare, virtue, the system of international relations, patriotism
and social justice (Horbulin and Kachynskyi, 2005), morality, religion, mutual
tolerance, peacefulness, goodwill, charity, family (Hai-Nyzhnyk and Chuprii,
2014), human rights and freedoms, social justice, material welfare of the Ukrainian
people, national security, natural resources, etc. (Syvak, 2019). These values must
full the consolidating role of the society and be the basis for the formulation of
national goals and in the process of developing a national development strategy.
National goals are key tasks set by the state for the creation of a model of a
better state of every person, society and country. Ideology is formed in dierent
ways, determined by the political regime of the state. This determines the tools and
technologies used to achieve strategic goals, mechanisms of inuence on society,
etc. Thus, democratic and totalitarian political regimes use dierent information
and communication technologies, mechanisms and methods of inuence on society.
The totalitarian state achieves the implementation of its ideology through the
mechanisms of state pressure, fear, violence and propaganda, while the ideology
of a democratic state takes into account the multi-layered and multi-syllable
relations between society and the state and is implemented through social and state
mechanisms of consensus building, reconciliation and harmony (Karlova, 2013).
The essence of ideology is the commonality of goals aimed at preservation,
multiplication and development of national values and interests, as well
as purposeful activity for their implementation. In view of the fact that the
Constitution of Ukraine forbids state ideology, we can consider another approach
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Narratives vs Ideology: new Dimensions of the Formation of National Unity in Ukraine
to the formation of a national idea, namely the use of a narrative approach in the
ideological management of the state.
The narrative in scientic discourse has appeared recently, its emergence is
connected with the rapid development of instruments and technologies of inuence
on society and mass consciousness. The term “narrative” resembles (lat. narrare
– story, narrative) from literary studies as a new methodology and theory of
literary creation (intertextuality, neorhetoric, receptive aesthetics), are focused
on the artistic discourse as an exceptional mega-system with author-reader code,
metatextual potential, national and cultural constants (Rymar, 2014).
It is considered as a manner of narration, presentation of facts and events in
the author’s work depicted in a certain informational product. In the world science
happens “narrative turn”, which characterizes the inltration of narratology
into other disciplines - psychology, politology, sociology, theology, public
administration, etc.
It was most widespread in the context of the development of the concept of
strategic communication during the last two decades. The narrative is an ideological
component of strategic communications. After all, strategic communication is
a way of implementing the strategic goals of a social subject (state) through the
transfer of non-material resources of inuence on the object (society) through the
distribution (reorientation) of resources of inuence, which is achieved by means
of narratives.
The goal of strategic communication is to inuence the motivational structures
of target audiences (targeting groups of society), and the result: subconsciousness –
consciousness – behavior of certain groups of society (Syvak, 2019). The function
of strategic communications lies in the distribution of benets in the physical
space at the expense of the conversion of resources of inuence. They are closely
connected with the mission, insight (vision) and value of a social subject and
contribute to strategic positioning (DOD Dictionary, 2017; Paul, 2011; Steyn and
Butschi, 2006).
This concept should be understood as a way of reassuring and persuading
target audiences to understand and accept the stated goals, policies, or lines of
development: allies and supporters – to act together; neutral audiences – to accept
the new “rules of the game,” or to remain neutral; opponents and supervisors – to
convince them that there is the possibility and power to win them. That is to say,
it is a tool for public politicizing the policy and goals of the subject of strategic
communication, namely the state.
The so-called meta-narratives (grand-narratives) are important for the state as a
narrator. A meta-narrative is a construction, a scheme, a set of understandings, ideas,
symbols, it is not a specic text, but a coordinate system in which communication
between the state and the society is carried out, although there are always separate
texts in which the grand-narrative reveals the earliest and fullest. The meta-narrative
is not only a way of organizing available information from the past, but also a way
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of determining what is important in history and what is not, the actual content of
the historical narrative (Kazakov, 2015). For the state such a grand-narrative is the
vision of the future and the national development strategy, which contain global
strategic goals, time parameters, ways and resources to achieve them.
The term “narrative” in modern scientic journals is interpreted as:
• an analytical construct used to summarize a group of events into a
single history (Stevenson, 2003);
• a distinctive national gene, in view of the similarity of their function,
as genes transfer information through generations with a high
degree of probability, so the nativities have similar features (Wilson,
2005);
• meta-speech, for approval of which in target audiences the
whole purposeful activity of the state with the help of strategic
communications is directed (Horbulin, 2016);
• the axial content element of all the information activity of the state
and its approval in the target audiences (internal and external), on
which the activity of all communication capabilities of the state is
headed (Dubov, 2017);
• the means to which political actors are given to construct the meaning
and signicance of “great politics” – both internal and external, both
governmental and corporate, community, etc. (Ozhevan, 2016);
• a short, comprehensive written presentation of the situation and
the goals of the state, which can act by itself as the main context
of strategic planning directives or be used to support the creation
of specic culturally shaped histories, which will be perceived by
individual audiences and contribute to their unication (NATO
Strategic Communications handbook, 2015).
Fundamental principles of narrative, as the subject of narratology,
determine its ability to impart knowledge and inuence human
consciousness, as well as to eectively explain its “history” in a language
accessible for perception and comprehension by the target audiences.
On the basis of the above-mentioned characteristics and for the purpose
of their separation, we can point out their essential dierences. The principal
dierence between the nativity and the ideology lies in: purposefulness of
the sphere of inuence on society, particularly on target groups of society
(depending on the goal of the campaign); its implementation mainly in
the format of dialogue with the aim of forming common values; Close
communication with ocial strategic documents of state institutions and
transmitting information through open ocial communication channels.
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Narratives vs Ideology: new Dimensions of the Formation of National Unity in Ukraine
The requirement of mandatory synchronization of communications
with the actions of the subject of inuence (the state); in the use of ocial,
transparent, understandable to the subject of inuence (the public) means
and tools to achieve the specied goals.
We can also identify the joint features of ideology and narratives, in
particular: content – a set of ideas formed on the basis of the consolidation
of national values, which is aimed at the consolidation of society; process –
the impact on society and the ideological basis: narrative, persuation, and
encouraging; aim – inuence on the motivational structures of the society
to achieve its own strategic goals. This gives grounds to consider ideology
and narrative equally important in the context of ensuring ideological
governance of the state.
2.2. A Directive Approach to Ensuring Consolidation of Society
The steady development of the state can only be ensured if individual
social groups are consolidated around the achievement of vital state goals.
Consolidation is a crucial factor in the self-preservation and development
of the nation, which integrates the state and the society. However, national
consolidation is not static, its maintenance is a dynamic process that requires
the use of appropriate technologies, tools and methods of interaction
between institutions of the civil society and the state (Petukhova, 2015).
Integration of social processes among individual groups, communities,
institutions, power and the state is aimed at shifting positions and
ideologies, improving the social and economic state and properties of the
system of interrelations and interactions in society, the nation and the state,
as well as, most importantly, focusing on long-term goals. It is worth paying
attention to the need for the formation of long-term strategic goals of state
development, which certainly, has the most important importance in the
process of ensuring consolidation. Because in practice, the consolidation of
society is not possible without joint interest, a common goal and the unity
of actions.
It is advisable to look in detail at the narrative and its varieties.
Formulation of long-term strategic goals can be ensured by a meta-
narrative that will enable us to formulate a long-term vision of the state’s
development, perhaps, for a 30-year perspective. The strategic narrative,
as a lower-order narrative, is the basis for working out a strategy for the
development of the state in the 10-15-year perspective, which must have
specic strategic goals. It is the narratives that are necessary for the indirect
provision of cooperation and understanding between the narrator (state)
and the society in achieving specic strategic goals.
Regardless of the aliation to a certain culture, people learn the ideas
and meanings of this culture and make sense in the form of assimilation
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of various narratives and stories, which are retold by various narrators
(Ozhevan, 2016). A signicant number of such histories became myths and
the basis of religions, ideologies and related folk beliefs and, accordingly,
meta-narratives, pan-narratives or grand-narratives. The special
positioning of meta-narratives, in relation to which the other narratives
are derivative subnarratives, related in that they are central elements of
a “global cultural narrative schema capable of guiding and explaining
knowledge or experience” (Olcott, 2011).
Thus, the dierence between dierent types of narratives lies in their
functional composition, i.e. the role they play in the implementation of
the national idea and their place in the so-called narrative scheme. For a
global, conceptual explanation of ideology we use meta-narratives (grand-
narratives), which are static within certain time limits and clearly associate
with the vision and strategic goal of development of the state, society and
the nation. Strategic narratives are tools of the strategic level, which, rst
of all, have to explain how to achieve the global goal, interpret various
situations through certain ideological ideas. Narratives are tactical level
tools, the purpose of which is to explain certain situations of the modern
(everyday) level, the interpretation of events and circumstances that occur
daily in society.
For a detailed understanding of the essence of narratives in the process
of achieving strategic goals, it is worth referring to the experience of those
institutions that actively use this approach, in particular NATO. In “White
Paper. Narrative development in coalition operations” (White paper, 2014),
the narratives are characterized through the so-called “narrative arc”, which
is explained by the diversity of theories about the forms and structures of
dierent types of narratives.
The trajectory of the arc is composed of participants (society and power
authorities), actions (activity of power authorities), and communications,
which run in one direction until the result is obtained, which characterizes
the end of the narrative. The narrative trajectory involves the use of the
narrative landscape, a metaphor for describing complex narratives
that prevail in a particular social, political and economic environment
at a particular historical stage of development. These statements must
complement one another, and not oppose or contradict, respond to the
expectations of interested parties and take into account their cultural,
personal, role, religious and medical-structural specicities.
The subject of narratology is the fundamental principles of narrative,
which determine its ability to impart knowledge and inuence human
consciousness. It is based on four basic approaches: from the position of the
process the narrator (the narrator is the state and the public authorities);
from the position of the object, that is, the events about which the story is
told; and from the synthetic position, which combines the previous two:
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Narratives vs Ideology: new Dimensions of the Formation of National Unity in Ukraine
the narrator and the events. The main value of narratives is their ability
to disseminate the main ideas without conicts, to organize, corrigue,
construct the behavior of actors on the basis of commitment to certain
integral systems that form the basis of ideology.
For the state, the narrative is a method, technology and tool for “imposing”
on the public an ocially sealed set of norms, rules and behavior patterns
that are documented in the relevant ocially sealed document - the state
development strategy. That is, the narratios are the tools by which the state
articulates its interests and values. Therefore, the narrative is the semantic
core of the state communications for ensuring national consolation, which
is based on good beliefs, reality and communicating actions.
The state’s narratives are aimed at forming a “picture of the world”,
i.e., its intellectual (virtual) copy, which is formed according to the laws of
human consciousness activity; it has dierent forms of existence depending
on the needs of reality awareness (Lipkan and Popova, 2016). “The picture
of the world” as a global image is formed in the process of people’s contact
with the natural environment and other members of society, is realized in
language, art, music, rituals and various social and cultural stereotypes of
behavior.
The conceptual picture is a system of concepts (special units of mentality),
which are important psycho-mental coordinates that dene the limits of
collective national consciousness and collective unawareness, the concept
sphere of the nation. We can include axiological principles that determine
the priorities of the spiritual life of the nation among the main factors that
create the integrity of the concept sphere of the nation.
For determining the methodological basis of the narratives, it is
important to dene the structure and approaches to its creation. It should
be noted that the use of narratives is a controlled process, which must be
carried out by the state and its institutions to achieve the specied strategic
and ideological goals in the form of grand-narratives and specic goals in
the form of narratives and messages, etc.
2.3. Structure of the narrative
Narratives of all levels have a certain structure, which has several
approaches. For all of them, in comparison with other types of narrative
and text, there is a common feature - they do not show the exact course
of events and facts with chronological accuracy. Their main purpose is to
make the real picture easier to understand, giving them the properties of a
fascinating, understandable narrative for the appropriate target audience.
At the time of broadcasting/spreading of narratives, their
comprehensibility by a target audience is important. Narratives
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consolidate their meaning behind the objects and connect it with reality
and understanding (Terebkov, 2011), as well as denote perceptions
and attitudes, create expectations, interests and form and correlate the
behaviour of certain groups of society.
Narratives require a certain algorithm for its construction, the purpose
of which is ambivalent in the ideological management of the state. On the
one hand, it allows you to formulate a narrative depending on the sphere
of its use (a certain eld), target audiences (groups of society on which the
informational inuence is exerted), the goal of the narrative process, etc, and
on the other hand - to identify the functions of those or other statements,
publications, messages, to analyze the convictions of the narrator (state),
clearly establishing its goal.
There are several approaches to the creation of the narrative in the
scientic literature (Zhenett, 1998; Mandziuk, 2017; Bhatt, 2000; Labov,
1972; Ochs and Capps, 2001), the range of interpretations of which is
mainly centered on the narrative texts. Generally, we can consider the
narrative for achieving the strategic goals of the state in four aspects: as
a process – the narration (communication process of the state), from the
position of the interests of the object – the recipient of the narration, the
recipient (targeting groups of individuals), from the position of the subject
– the narrator (the authority or the state as a whole), synthetic narrative:
1. As a process, the narrative (narration) assumes that the story
(informing) deals with one selected strategic goal, topic, problem,
and has the form of logically connected chains of a certain coordinate
system, which have no contradictions between the causes and eects
and no inequalities between the specied task and the result obtained.
Under such conditions, it is not the content that is important, but the
form and process of creation.
2. The narrative from the position of the object (recipient, addressee of
the narration) is dened by such features: a detailed study, research
of target audiences, by targeting of objects of information inuence:
social, value, educational, intellectual and cultural awareness,
ability to absorb, comprehend, perceive the message. Under such
conditions, the development of the algorithm depends not only on
the purpose of the narrator, but also on the capacity of perception
of its appropriate target audience with a possible assessment of the
impact on her, her perception and understanding.
3. The narrative from the subject point of view (the narrator) - it is
mediated indirectly by the narrator himself/herself. Under such
conditions, the emphasis is placed indirectly on the image of the
narrator, who can be a politician, the head of an institution, an
organization, a government body, etc., and who has the right to
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Narratives vs Ideology: new Dimensions of the Formation of National Unity in Ukraine
know the terminology, understand the essence of changes, have a
comprehensive view of the situation, problems or the state, which
characterizes his image, determines the way to achieve results.
4. The synthetic/synergetic narrative is the most eective and is based
on modeling the dynamic, hierarchical, and adaptive structure of
all existing initiatives. Its adequacy and eciency lie in the fact that
within its limits a unique form for a specic situation and target is
constructed, an idea is formed, a meaning is given, a new meaning,
the so-called narrative landscape is created.
The peculiarities of forming the image of the narrator, the process of
narration, the recipient of the inuence and the links between them that
create the corresponding narrative matrix are of great importance in the
process of creating the narrative. The designated steps and compositions of
the algorithm for creating the narrative will contribute to a smooth choice
of the thematic interval by the recipient and identication of the numerous
conventions used in the messages.
The state’s narratives are basic constructions, which are dened by
higher-order narratives (strategic, meta-narratives, visions), dene the
dynamics of strategic and tactical narrative, establish the initial and desired
situation and problem, and the process of transition from the problem to
its solution, i.e. achievement of the goal; cognitive (ideological) structure,
which allows to form a new “picture of the world” of the society and
understand the status and vectors of development; forms of communication
understandable for the perception of dierent groups of society information
about the causes and desired results, ways of explaining the complex social,
economic, political processes, problems and goals in order to facilitate their
solutions and involvement in this process.
Describing the peculiarities of the use of narratives in the context of the
improvement of ideological governance of the state, it is worth mentioning
another peculiarity. In particular, about the use of counter-narratives to
deconstruct the concepts of opponents. It is important for Ukraine in the
process of conducting hybrid war and opposing the ruinous narratives and
informational interventions of the Russian Federation as the aggressor
country. The process of information war, in which Ukraine is, clearly
demonstrates the activity of the narratives and counter-narratives in the
virtual and informational space.
This indicates the usefulness of their use in informational, virtual and
cognitive wars, where a war of narratives - opposition to views - takes place.
The goal of such wars is to inuence mass awareness. Thus, the goal of
information warfare is to form an informational “picture of the world”
of the current year, which is formed with the help of news (newspapers,
television, Internet).
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The goal of virtual war - the formation of a virtual “picture of the world”
that has a longer lasting eect and inuences the understanding of the world
as a whole - is realized in books, movies, serials, monumental, symbolic art,
etc. (Pocheptsov, 2019a). The dierence between the informational and the
virtual space lies in the implementation of tactical and strategic inuences,
because the virtual space is a cognitive sphere: religion and ideology, i.e.,
certain sacred values that unite groups of society, generations, etc.
The greatest danger is represented by cognitive wars, which also takes
place in the informational space and is aimed at controlling mentality to
inuence decision making. Cognitive war is an inuence on the higher level
of mentality of the society (people), its thoughts, values that determine its
behavior. Changing them, as well as interpreting physical events, results in
a dierent type of social behavior (Pocheptsov, 2019b).
Cognitive (ideological) wars take place at the highest civilizational and
religious levels, which are based on the non-conformity of basic values and
become the reason of civilizational conicts. Therefore, cognitive wars are
an important part of the so-called hybrid wars. On the whole, we can dene
the narrative of the war as a humanizing mechanism of implementing the
national idea, which contributes to its openness, constant improvement
and development, taking into account the peculiarities of individual and
group interests.
2.4. The initiative and state strategies: maintenance technologies
Narrative is the basis of communication between the state and the
society, which contributes to the formation of national consensus and
consolidation of the society in achieving strategic goals. Therefore, it is
worth examining the specics of their implementation at the level of the
state, including the use of such technologies as strategic communications.
After all, strategic communications have an indirect connection with the
vision of development and state strategies and should be an indispensable
component at the highest level of management and the early stage of their
development, for example, during crisis response or other measures, and
must become an organic part of the process of developing state policy
(Communication for Strategic Change, 2011) with the mandatory use of
forecasting technology during the formation of national strategies (Tully
et al., 2017).
This is the process of synchronization and coordination of narratives,
ideas, images, individual activities and actions within the framework of
all related communicative activities (DOD Dictionary, 2017) of the state.
They are also dened as technology, i.e. a certain totality of actions and
activities that must be carried out in sequence, in an appropriate manner
using specic tools and techniques, by the subject of public administration
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Tetiana Syvak, Olena Rachynska, Viktoriia Popova, Viktoriia Koltun y Nataliia Grynchuk
Narratives vs Ideology: new Dimensions of the Formation of National Unity in Ukraine
in the information space to achieve the strategic objectives (Syvak, 2019).
In general, strategic communications, as a technology for delivering
relevant messages to target groups of society, can bring regime, institutional,
macrostructural changes in the state and change the public atmosphere and
social attitudes. They have these characteristics and are aimed at:
• achievement of planned strategic eects, strategic branding -
creation of new symbols and meanings;
• consolidation behavioural patterns (stereotypical behavioural
reactions), i.e., controlling the behaviour of target audiences;
• implementation of a long-term development strategy;
• integration of stakeholders, i.e., involvement of all parties interested
in the planned changes;
• coherence and synergy of stakeholders, i.e., synchronization of
actions and narratives in the space and time of all subjects of
the communication process. Strategic communications create
a “conceptual umbrella” that allows various subjects in various
spheres of activity to realize coherent activities;
• integration with actions, i.e., strategic communication transmits
information not only as a message, but also by actions, i.e.,
communication by actions or inactivity takes place.
The principal dierence between strategic communications in ideological
management and other types of communications is in the planned
involvement by the state of a large number of subjects in the interaction
with society with the aim of inuencing their behaviour. Therefore, strategic
communication can be dened as a formative inuence on the appropriate
objects, on which the narrative is directed.
The place of the narratives in the process of strategic communications
by the state can be visualized in the form of a concept (g. 1). The concept
of strategic communications was developed on the basis of “Understanding
NATO Strategic Communications” (Understanding NATO Strategic
Communications, 2014).
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Fig. 1. The concept of strategic communications. Source: author’s elaboration
The state, through rational use of its communication potential, i.e.,
through selection of the appropriate channel, device, method or component
of strategic communication under the leadership of the national leader,
ensures broadcasting of messages to target groups of society. The objects of
inuence are characterized by the diversity of society, which requires their
targeting and identication in order to ensure the most favourable eect.
This model implies that the subject of strategic communications must
be present in the eld of vision of all the audiences, both identied and
unidentied, because it is their reaction to the relevant information that
can create both favourable and conicting situations and conditions
for achieving the strategic objectives. The synchronization of narratives
and actions is necessary to create cooperative meanings and ensure the
participation of all parties concerned. It ensures the coordination and
ordering of spatially dispersed activities, even those that at rst glance are
not mutually interconnected and belong to dierent systems.
This approach will contribute to: improvement of the ideological
component of the public administration process and information and
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Tetiana Syvak, Olena Rachynska, Viktoriia Popova, Viktoriia Koltun y Nataliia Grynchuk
Narratives vs Ideology: new Dimensions of the Formation of National Unity in Ukraine
communication activities of the authorities; establishment of dialogue
and consensus between institutionally dierent subjects of public
administration (the state, authorities and society); achievement of national
strategic goals; ensuring purposeful communication and coordination of
activities in the system of power authorities. Thus, with the help of strategic
communications the state functions as a single integral mechanism in
cooperation with both the own society and other states and their citizens.
Conclusion
The lack and even the prohibition of ideology in Ukraine became a
favourable ground for the strengthening of polar attitudes, ideas and values
in the society. Developing and maintaining a state ideology shared by the
majority of people is essential not only for solving conicts and ideological
oppositions, but also for achieving strategic goals. The valuable core of the
existence of the state and the nation, which consolidates the society, is the
adherence to, preservation and multiplication of national values, on the
basis of which the strategic goals can be formulated in the form of a vision
of state development and a national strategy.
The peculiar analogue of the state ideology is the narrative, which has
the same methodological basis, namely a mental construct (a set of ideas,
beliefs, a system of views) that forms a coordinate system, within the
framework of which there is communication between the state and society
for the purpose of uniting around a common goal aimed at reconciliation of
sovereignty, national security, territorial integrity, etc. On the basis of the
analysis of similar and dierent features between ideology and narrative
it is established that they are equally important in the process of ensuring
ideological governance of the state.
The narrative approach in ensuring the consolidation of society is
manifested in the support of a dynamic process by the integration of
individual groups, communities, institutions, power and the state in
achieving long-term strategic goals. All types of narratives: meta-narrative,
strategic narrative, narrative (story), counter-narrative, can be used to
achieve strategic and tactical goals of the state and its institutions through
the formation of a “national picture of the world”.
It is proposed the structure of the state’s narrative: process (narration),
from the point of view of the object, the subject and as a synthetic narrative.
This approach gives the possibility to dierentiate the directions of use of
the narratives for achieving strategic priorities of development, in particular
during the conduct of information and cognitive wars using the information
and virtual space.
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The technological component of the narratives are strategic
communications, which ensure their synchronization and coordination with
the national idea and actions of the authorities within the framework of all
related information and communication activities of the state. This enables
the state, as a narrator, to make regime, institutional, macrostructural
changes in the country and change the public atmosphere and social
attitudes.
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