The borderland of central and eastern europe as a specific area for practices and identities of youth

Abstract

The article analyzes the identities of youth (high school graduates) of a borderland of Central and Eastern Europe (Ukraine, Poland and Hungary) and provides us with the research of practices that contribute to this identity. Borderland of Central and Eastern Europe is a socio-cultural space that produces a certain identity and identificational practices since identity is always the product of complex relationships of the objective and subjective, external and internal.Results of our study show that the boundary area is the focus of certain identities (Ukraine - Poland – the dominance of regional and ethnic identity,Ukraine – Hungary – the domination of a strong tie with the family and civil identity). Youth of the Ukrainian borderland are convinced of the fact that the status of the border region has an impact on the daily lives, while young people beyond the border disagree with it. This influence is carried out through such "means of communication" as language skills, the presence of relatives and friends beyond the border, active cross-border migration etc.