Cultural Diplomacy under Conditions of War: Colonial Discourse as Strategic Communication in Ukraine

This study examines Ukraine’s strategic deployment of colonial discourse frameworks in cultural diplomacy toward European audiences following the 2022 Russian full-scale invasion. Focusing on the practices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ukrainian Institute, the research investigates how diplomatic institutions construct narratives that embed Ukraine’s experience within European historical and normative frameworks, thereby advancing claims to belonging under conditions of active military conflict. The study addresses two interrelated research questions central to contemporary EU–Ukraine relations and external communication: How does Ukraine adapt colonial discourse elements to articulate both resistance to Russian imperialism and alignment with European values? What tensions emerge when colonial resistance frameworks—traditionally deployed in opposition to Western power—become mobilized as strategic communication tools in the context of relations with the European Union? Drawing on qualitative narrative and discourse analysis of Ukrainian diplomatic communications, cultural programming initiatives, and strategic policy frameworks published from 2022 to 2025, the paper examines institutional practices of strategic narrativization across Ukraine’s cultural diplomacy apparatus. The analysis examines Ukraine’s adaptation of colonial discourse elements for European audiences, with particular attention to narrative strategies such as historical parallelisms, colonizer–victim dynamics, and identity positioning. The research investigates how these frameworks function as strategic communication tools rather than as sites of theoretical engagement, exploring their role as instrumental resources within EU-facing diplomatic communication. The paper contributes to debates on EU–Ukraine relations and public diplomacy under crisis conditions by illustrating how a candidate state mobilizes colonial discourse elements as strategic communication tools for diplomatic and institutional objectives. Ukraine’s strategic narrativization practices offer insights into evolving modes of European identity construction and membership articulation under conditions of war