In the context of the Euromaidan and subsequent unrests leading to a war in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbass, this thesis examines the speeches of the country´s president, Petro Poroshenko...Show moreIn the context of the Euromaidan and subsequent unrests leading to a war in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbass, this thesis examines the speeches of the country´s president, Petro Poroshenko in the first 6 months of his presidency, the second half of 2014. This paper attempts to provide the answer to the following issues, employing critical discourse analysis as the methodology: it examines which form of nationalism, ethnic or civic, is more prevalent in the speeches. Moreover, it identifies the main themes and evaluates Poroshenko´s nation building mission while providing a chapter on the history of these contested forms of nationalism in Ukraine to offer a wider background of the examined issues. This study concluded that the prevalent form of nationalism is civic nationalism and identified anti-Russian rhetoric, the European path and using the war in Donbass as a means of uniting the people as the main topics. However, Poroshenko´s nation-building is defensive rather than proactive. It is largely based on anti-Russian narrative and the current war, but does not offer a viable and sustainable vision of nation-building in a long run, indicating that president Poroshenko is, like his predecessors, unable to resolve the internal division of Ukraine and create a strong national identity which would likely allow Ukraine to improve its economic and political situation.Show less
