Minority Rights and Wartime Narratives in Ukraine

Dr. Hanna Vasilevich from EURAC Research’s Institute for Minority Rights will take part in the Plenary Session of the International Conference “Migration Dynamics and New Trends in European (In)Security”, to be held in Cluj-Napoca on October 23–24, 2025. Her presentation, “Securitizing the Internal Other: Radical Right Narratives, Minority Rights, and Framing in Wartime Ukraine”, examines how Ukraine’s wartime discourse of unity and resistance—central to its national survival—can also create new forms of exclusion. In moments of existential threat, societies often redefine who belongs and who is viewed with suspicion. Dr. Vasilevich analyses how radical right actors and parts of the political mainstream have depicted certain groups—such as Russian speakers, Roma, and Crimean Tatars—as potential threats to sovereignty. Her research reflects on how wartime appeals to vigilance and loyalty can blur into processes of securitization, challenging democratic inclusion and reshaping notions of citizenship, trust, and belonging.

The presentation is part of Dr. Vasilevich’s ongoing research project, “Securitization of Minority Rights in Eastern Europe”, funded by the Autonomous Province of Bolzano/Bozen – South Tyrol.