Borderland Man in the Space of Hybrid Identities: Existential Dimension

Abstract

The purpose is to update the consideration of the socio-cultural space of the border as a locus of human existence in specific territorial frameworks limited by the proximity of the border and the area of formation of a peculiar border consciousness, specific cultural codes, symbols, and mental constructions in the conditions of modern existential challenges. The main trends of the emergence of hybrid identities in borderland conditions, situations of asymmetry and clash of cultures, different ways of representing the past, and value demarcations are analyzed.

Methodological approaches. The use of existential approaches is aimed at introducing the problem of borders into the context of attitudes towards otherness and consideration of the socio-psychological vector of the vision of the “other”.

Scientific novelty. Emphasis is placed on the study of the anthropological component of the problem of the borderland and the understanding of the cultural phenomenon of “borderland man”, clarifying the specifics of the functioning of controversial practices of historical memory in the borderland socio-cultural space.

Conclusions. It has been proven that the attraction to different cultural poles creates a kind of existential-value vacuum in the border zones, in which the problem of attitude to otherness can turn into a relativistic anti-culture of the “alien” and then into an openly authoritarian anti-culture of the “enemy”. The dichotomy of the foreign world and the constant choice of social development strategies cause the formation of a specific local consciousness in a borderland man, which combines self-sufficiency and introversion. Any influences from the outside can be perceived as unacceptable and create traps of value distinctions. Therefore, the study of models of social positioning in border areas and clarification of the algorithms of their formation and functioning should be among the strategic directions of domestic regional analytics and security policy.