CHARLES UNIVERSITY IN PRAGUE FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Institute of Sociological Studies Department of Sociology Valeriia Galushkevych 'Czech people' coming from Ukraine, their understanding of national identity Thesis abstract Key words: Czech Republic, integration, migration, national identity, perception, push and pull factors, resettlement, Ukrainian migrants. In this thesis, I analyze various aspects of migration from Ukraine to the Czech Republic under the resettlement program of ethnic Czechs introduced by the Czech government in 2015. This program was initiated upon the request of the Czech society in Ukraine in response to steady economic decline and worsening living conditions in Ukraine. The population of my study is ethnic Czechs living in Ukraine and who moved to the Czech Republic within the resettlement program. I study the determinants of their move, speed of integration in the Czech Republic, progress on the Czech labor market, migrants' satisfaction with life in the destination country, discrimination and their plans for the future. I collect qualitative data from individual interviews mostly conducted in hotel rooms where the migrants temporarily reside. A significant distinguishing feature of this study is that I analyze migrants with Czech roots who moved to the Czech Republic under...

In this thesis we focus on singulatives, which, according to S. Bevzenko, are most common in the Ukrainian language. In the study, we analyzed many meanings of the term singulative from different linguists and chose version of V. Musatov, which, in our opinion, is the most accurate. The theoretical part is dedicated to general information about singulatives, their presence and meaning in Slavic languages as well as classifications, by which researchers divide these nouns. The general stylistic characteristic of singulatives in Russian, where these nouns are investigated in more detail, is also presented in this part. In the practical part with the use of Hrinchenko's "Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language" (1907 - 1909), "Dictionary of the Ukrainian language" in eleven volumes (1970 - 1980) and the academic "Great explanatory dictionary of Modern Ukrainian language" (2009) we research singulatives in the Ukrainian language, including changing or preserving their lexical meanings and stylistic markings during 1909 - 2009, as well as their use in fiction and folklore. Key words: singulative, the Ukrainian language, word formation, noun, connotation

5 Abstract This thesis aims to provide an overview of Russia's narratives surrounding the anti-Russian sanctions implemented by the West in the wake of the Ukrainian crisis. Employing the concept of "strategic narratives", the thesis aspires to outline the content and usage variation of Russia's strategic communication regarding the sanctions regime. After exploring what countries can, in theory, do to defend themselves against sanctions, it was predicted that Russia would strive to reach two goals with its strategic narratives, delegitimizing the sanctions regime and downplaying the sanctions' negative economic effects. The qualitative method of thematic analysis was used to explore the statements of Russia's political leaders on the sanctions and found that Russia indeed seeks to delegitimize the sanctions and downplay their effects. When investigating the usage of the two strategic narratives over time with the help of a quantitative Chi-square test, no significant differences could be found between economically turbulent and prosperous times for two out of three politicians, with the third one resorting more often to the delegitimizing strategic narrative in economically prosperous times. Meanwhile, two other external factors were identified as significantly influencing the strategic narratives' usage...

The present study seeks to identify if journalistic objectivity is compromised in the coverage of the Russian-Ukrainian war and how the various media bias practices are incorporated into news reports. It provides a critical analysis of the portrayal of conflicting sides of the conflict in Western mainstream media, examining how the "us" versus "them" narratives were constructed and how the produced discourse aligns with the principles of peace journalism. The study uses a combination of critical discourse analysis, semiotic, and narrative analysis methods as well as quantitative content analysis to achieve its objectives. Analyzing the content of twelve articles sourced from BBC and CNN, published across two distinct time frames, reveals that Western media coverage disproportionately represents the Ukrainian perspective, with the Russian standpoint largely marginalized or stereotypically characterized. The findings indicate that Western media also normalize or trivialize the role of neo-Nazi organizations in the conflict while downplaying potential war crimes committed by the Ukrainian side. Quantitative content analysis of 99 articles according to criteria adapted from Galtung's model finds a discernible dominance of war journalism over peace journalism, thus propagating divisive narratives. Comparative findings for each digital outlet suggest that the BBC adopts a more aggressive war journalism modality than CNN. The research advocates for a critical reflection on media coverage, the challenging of media biases, and a strive for a more balanced, peace-oriented portrayal of conflicts.

This study analyzes a recently published collection of poetry on the ongoing Russo-krainian war. Against a background of Russia’s new oppressive laws concerning the fact that a person can be sent to prison for up to 15 years for spreading “false information” about the war the study aims to investigate the way poets express themselves in the collective work Poeziia poslednego vremeni: Khronika, published in Saint Petersburg in the fall of 2022. The study was conducted through content analysis and close reading of selected poems of the collection. Conclusions that was drawn from the study is that the collective work contains poems with a strong anti-war message. Poets take a clear standpoint in the collection against the Russian regime and the war and oftentimes use a satirical and ironic way to undermine both the war and the Russian regime, which is remarkable considering the risk taken when speaking out against the war in today’s Russia.

Previously throughout history, the norm regarding the proper conduct of war began with aformal declaration of war, however since the end of the Second World War the usage of wardeclarations have decreased, and in its place the legitimacy of countries' actions have garneredmore attention. The study of legitimacy within the larger field of peace- and war studies haverecently evolved from the previous theory dominating the field, classical legitimacy theory,and today new perspectives regarding legitimacy are emerging. This study makes use of onesaid perspective, with its three areas of development in regards to classical legitimacy theory:audiences for legitimacy, legitimacy sources and legitimation. These areas of development areanalyzed in combination with political discourse analysis on one statement and two addressesby the President of the Russian Federation. The study’s findings concur in some respect withthe conclusions presented by von Billerbeck and Gippert; which stipulate that there are moreaudiences for legitimation than previously believed; the use of procedural legitimacy is morein use than out-put legitimacy; and the use of force with regards to the three empirical cases oflegitimation demonstrate the dual nature of force within the context of conflict. The findingsin this study does not constitute a complete understanding of legitimacy, but rather illustratesthe way countries use legitimacy in order to fortify their own actions.

The war in Ukraine has led to the displacement of millions of Ukrainians. Refugee policy hasalways been hotly debated and the Swedish political debate has been divided since Swedenhas received refugees from a lot of war-torn countries. Previous research has shown thatrefugees from different parts of the world are portrayed in different terms. Therefore thisstudy aims to compare discourses in the portrayal of Syrian refugees during the years2014-2015 and Ukrainian refugees in 2022 respectively in the Swedish political discourse.Specifically, it will be examined how the parties Sweden Democrats and the Moderates haveexpressed themselves in political statements about the Syrian refugees in the years 2014-2015compared to the Ukrainian refugees in 2022. The aim is also to critically analyze thesediscourses and how "us and them" identities are constructed. In order to carry out the study, acritical discourse analysis and Fairclough's three-dimensional model has been applied to theempirical material. The theoretical framework that has been helpful in analyzing the politicaldiscourse on refugees has been the postcolonial theory, the theory of racialization andOrientalism. The study concluded that Syrian and Ukrainian refugees are portrayeddifferently. Syrian refugees are mostly talked about in negative terms, while Ukrainianrefugees are described in positive terms. The result of the study also showed that the Syrianrefugees were mostly excluded to be described as "them" and the Ukrainian refugees wereincluded in a "us". These findings align with results from previous research in studies ofrefugee portrayal.

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On the 24th of February 2022, interstate war on a scale unseen since World War II returned to Europe, causing devastating suffering and loss of human life. As of writing, Ukraine’s ability to demonstrate battlefield success is frequently cited as key to sustain Western political willpower to send military aid. This study aims to test presumptions of a positive feedback loop between military assistance and its successful implementation with a mixed-method approach. Regression models analyze time-series data tracking a year of 33 countries’ military aid commitments to Ukraine using random effects (RE) to control for unobserved, country-specific and varying mediating variables. Based on German aversiveness to military solutions, a least-likely case debate analysis analyzes three Bundestag debates to uncover lawmakers’ justifications for approving or rejecting military aid proposals. Applying a theory-generating analysis framework, battlefield successes are confirmed as recurring arguments used to enforce pro-aid narratives, but do not necessarily overcome factors constraining military aid commitments. The RE regression finds a statistically significant positive relationship between Ukrainian battlefield success and military aid commitments. This raises immense implications for Ukrainian decisionmakers, who may be compelled to prioritize short-term military gains to secure future Western support.

This study aimed to highlight the practice of rhetoric and semiotics used in crisis communication during the Russian-Ukrainian war. On the 24th of February 2022, Russia began its invasion of Ukraine which resulted in the Ukrainian president, Zelensky, giving numerous speeches. In light of Zelensky's background as an actor, several discussions arose concerning his execution of delivery. The analyzed material in this study consisted of three speeches that Zelensky performed regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war, and these were collected from Youtube where the speeches were uploaded. The aim of this study was to investigate how Zelensky utilized rhetorical and semiotic tools in his communication. The investigation was carried out by qualitative content analysis, rhetorical analysis, and semiotic analysis, and the study was based on the theories of semiotics, rhetoric, and crisis communication. These literary tools and vocal speeches helped to answer the research question.The research showed that Zelensky was skilled in delivering his speeches in many ways. From a semiotic perspective, important elements, such as his looks and dress wear, as well as objects shown in the background, were analyzed during his speeches. This resulted in advantages such as a strengthened message and worldwide acceptance. Zelensky used influential rhetoric and distinct crisis communication to establish arguments and messages that awakened emotions in the audience to promote action.