Crafting Solidarity in a Changing Global Order: Mnemonic Diplomacy in Ukraine’s Decolonization Project

This article examines how Ukraine has mobilised memory politics as a diplomatic resource in its international advocacy during and after Russia’s full-scale invasion. Focusing on the period 2021–2024, it conceptualises Ukraine’s external communication as a form of mnemonic diplomacy embedded in a broader decolonial project. The article asks how historical narratives, analogies, and moral framings are strategically deployed to construct international solidarity and reposition Ukraine within global memory regimes. Methodologically, the study combines qualitative discourse analysis of multiple diplomatic texts: presidential speeches to national parliaments, official statements delivered in international organizations, and selected diplomatic communication materials, with a theoretically informed reading of decolonization and ontological security. The analysis traces recurrent discursive clusters, including historical analogies to twentieth-century atrocities, the reframing of Russia as a colonial and fascist aggressor, and appeals to shared moral responsibility. The article argues that Ukraine’s mnemonic diplomacy functions not merely as symbolic rhetoric, but as a structured political practice aimed at reordering international hierarchies of recognition. By linking its contemporary struggle to globally legible memory frameworks, Ukraine advances a decolonial claim to agency, security, and moral authority, while challenging the post-Soviet marginalization of Eastern European historical experiences.