National Values And Defensive Consciousness in the Focus of State Policy

Abstract

The article examines the transformations in Ukraine's state policy in fostering citizens’ defensive consciousness and the value orientations of the political nation during wartime. This involves a reinterpretation of political science categories such as consciousness, values, and identity through a security dimension, which has influenced academic research, educational programs, legal frameworks, and political practices. Defensive consciousness, as a politico-axiological phenomenon and an element of national identity, is explored in the context of its interrelation with patriotic education, civic education, and political consolidation. State policy in this sphere is reconsidered as the "art of the possible," shaped by values, priorities, agency, and limits of intervention. The study employs a politico-axiological approach, analyzing legal acts, scientific texts, and sociological survey data. It reveals how war has fostered the prioritization of security, patriotism, and social maturity within Ukrainian society, leading to a transformation of values and identity structures. Defensive consciousness is identified as a complex phenomenon requiring interdisciplinary analysis, while the challenges of identity politics (e.g., political manipulation, populism, external threats) demand rigorous political science investigation. It is argued that the adoption of new legal documents reflects attempts to enhance the state's role in shaping national identity. At the same time, it is crucial to avoid interdepartmental duplications and contradictions, strive for further alignment of such policies with new strategic goals, and incorporate lessons learned in building a democratic model of ethnopolitics, memory policy, and reintegration into identity policy documents. The findings underscore the need to develop state policy in the field of national identity (and defensive consciousness as its component) through scientifically grounded concepts and the promotion of political values that address contemporary challenges.