Narratives of Ukrainian diaspora mobilization in Canada: a discourse analysis

Abstract

The largest Ukrainian diaspora is in Canada, however, after the start of massive Russian aggression in 2022, the figures for Canadian assistance to Ukraine cannot compete even with the five countries supplying assistance to Ukraine in the current situation. It is still unclear why the potential opportunity to influence Canada’s domestic and foreign policy was lost on the part of the Ukrainian diaspora, but in this thesis, we will look at how the mobilization of the Ukrainian diaspora took place in the light of unfavorable events in their native state. The purpose of this study is to find out how the Ukrainian diaspora mobilized its supporters in the period from 2014 to 2022. This study conducts a critical discourse analysis of the narratives that shaped the discourse of the presidents of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and contributed to the mobilization of the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada. The thesis analyzes text and video reports of the presidents of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and focuses on 3 narratives: “Struggle for Freedom and Dignity” narrative, “Holodomor and Canada's First National Internment Operations” narrative, and “Ethnic and Organizational Cohesion” narrative. Thus, during the period under study, the participants of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress mainly used the “Struggle for freedom and dignity” narrative and the “Ethnic and organizational cohesion” narrative; they can rightfully be considered the dominant and formative narratives for the mobilization of the Ukrainian diaspora. The “Holodomor and Canada's First National Internment Operations” narrative was practically not used in the discourse to mobilize diaspora supporters.