Résumés
Abstract
This article demonstrates the ways in which social cohesion as a “sense of togetherness” is progressing within Ukrainian society—a society that is striving to escape the post-Soviet model as it undergoes the processes of state- and nation building and democratic development. This study draws on a national population survey and applies cluster analysis to identify homogeneous groups of the population in terms of their social-cohesion perceptions and behaviours. Six clusters are identified: distrustful, disunited, ambivalent, tolerant, connected, and declarative. The authors establish the composition of each cluster in relation to socio-economic, socio-demographic, ethnocultural, and attitudinal characteristics. Their research questions the relevance of institutional trust as a social-cohesion indicator in the context of the specific conditions of transitional societies. The authors submit that trust in political institutions might strengthen social cohesion at the level of society without necessarily corresponding to individually oriented indicators of social cohesion, such as civic and political participations. This paper sheds light on the weaknesses of the methodological approach advanced by Joseph Chan and colleagues. With the application of cluster analysis in the present study, one finds that the horizontal dimension of social cohesion is particularly well suited for use in cross-cultural studies. By contrast, the vertical dimension emerges as more contextual, requiring greater attention to the specificities of a given political regime. This paper proposes the existence of social-cohesion zigzags displaying an ambivalent state of perceptional schemes where the highest cohesion scores in some indicators are accompanied by the lowest ones in others within the same representative group. This study confirms the complexity and multi-level nature of social cohesion in transitional societies.
Keywords:
- social cohesion,
- Ukraine,
- cluster analysis,
- social-cohesion zigzags,
- social perception
Parties annexes
Bibliography
- Aasland, Aadne, and Sabine Kropp, editors. The Accommodation of Regional and Ethno-Cultural Diversity in Ukraine. Palgrave Macmillan, 2021. Federalism and Internal Conflicts, edited by Soeren Keil and Eva Maria Belser.
- Aasland, Aadne, et al. “Citizens’ Perspectives: Reform and Social Cohesion in Ukraine’s Border Regions.” Aasland and Kropp, pp. 237–72.
- Accommodation of Regional Diversity in Ukraine (ARDU). uni.oslomet.no/ardu/. Accessed 27 Sept. 2023.
- Arel, Dominique. “Language, Status, and State Loyalty in Ukraine.” The Battle for Ukrainian: A Comparative Perspective, special issue of Harvard Ukrainian Studies [Cambridge, MA], vol. 35, nos. 1–4, 2017–18, pp. 233–64.
- Baliichuk, Vladislav. “The Methodology of the ARDU Survey, Dnipro: Operatyvna Sociologiya (in Russian).” ODA—Open Digital Archive, By- og regionforskningsinstituttet (NIBR), OsloMet, Mar. 2020, oda.oslomet.no/oda-xmlui/handle/20.500.12199/6514. Accessed 5 June 2023.
- Barnett, Tony, and Alan Whiteside. AIDS in the Twenty-First Century: Disease and Globalization. Springer, 2002.
- Berger-Schmitt, Regina. “Considering Social Cohesion in Quality of Life Assessments: Concept and Measurement.” Social Indicators Research, vol. 58, nos. 1–3, June 2002, pp. 403–28. Springer Nature Link, https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015752320935. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
- Bollen, Kenneth A., and Rick H. Hoyle. “Perceived Cohesion: A Conceptual and Empirical Examination.” Social Forces [Chapel Hill, NC], edited by Richard L. Simpson, vol. 69, no. 2, Dec. 1990, pp. 479–504. Oxford Academic, published 1 Dec. 1990, https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/69.2.479. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025, PDF download.
- Bondarenko, Mykola, et al. “Sotsial'na zhurtovanist' v Ukraïni: Dosvid aplikatsiï metodyky Bertelsmann Stiftung do danykh ievropeis'koho sotsial'noho doslidzhennia.” Visnyk Kyïvs'koho Natsional'noho Universitetu imeni Tarasa Shevchenka: Sotsiolohiia, vol. 8, 2017, pp. 58–65.
- Carvalho, Naiara Barbosa, et al. “A Discriminant Function for Validation of the Cluster Analysis and Behavioral Prediction of the Coffee Market.” Food Research International, Anderson de Souza Sant’Ana, editor-in-chief, vol. 77, pt. 3, Nov. 2015, pp. 400–07. ScienceDirect, Elsevier, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2015.10.013. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
- Chan, Joseph, and Elaine Chan. “Charting the State of Social Cohesion in Hong Kong.” The China Quarterly [London], vol. 187, Sept. 2006, pp. 635–58. Cambridge University Press, published 21 Sept. 2006, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305741006000415. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025, PDF download.
- Chan, Joseph, et al. “Reconsidering Social Cohesion: Developing a Definition and Analytical Framework for Empirical Research.” Social Indicators Research, vol. 75, no. 2, Jan. 2006, pp. 273–302. Springer Nature Link, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-005-2118-1. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
- Delhey, Jan, et al. “Social Cohesion and Its Correlates: A Comparison of Western and Asian Societies.” Comparative Sociology, vol. 17, nos. 3–4, June 2018, pp. 426–55. Brill, published online 14 June 2018, https://doi.org/10.1163/15691330-12341468. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
- Dickes, Paul, and Marie Valentova. “Construction, Validation and Application of the Measurement of Social Cohesion in 47 European Countries and Regions.” Social Indicators Research, vol. 113, no. 3, 2013, pp. 827–46. Springer Nature Link, published 4 July 2012, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-012-0116-7. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
- Dickes, Paul, et al. “Construct Validation and Application of a Common Measure of Social Cohesion in 33 European Countries.” Social Indicators Research, vol. 98, no. 3, Sept. 2010, pp. 451–73. Springer Nature Link, published 5 Dec. 2009, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-009-9551-5. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025, PDF download.
- Dragolov, Georgi, et al. “Level, Trend, and Profiles of Social Cohesion in Asia.” What Holds Asian Societies Together? Insights from the Social Cohesion Radar, edited by Bertelsmann Stiftung, Verlag Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2018, pp. 69–96.
- El-Hanjouri, Mo'oamin M. R., and Bashar S. Hamad. “Using Cluster Analysis and Discriminant Analysis Methods in Classification with Application on Standard of Living Family in Palestinian Areas.” International Journal of Statistics and Applications, vol. 5, no. 5, 2015, pp. 213–22. Scientific and Academic Publishing, article.sapub.org/10.5923.j.statistics.20150505.05.html. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025, PDF download.
- Fonseca, Jaime R. S. “Clustering in the Field of Social Sciences: That Is Your Choice.” International Journal of Social Research Methodology, vol. 16, no. 5, 2013, pp. 403–28. Taylor and Francis Online, Informa UK, published online 13 Sept. 2012, https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2012.716973. Accessed 15 Apr. 2015.
- Giuliano, Elise. “Who Supported Separatism in Donbas? Ethnicity and Popular Opinion at the Start of the Ukraine Crisis.” Identity Politics in Times of Crisis: Ukraine as a Critical Case, special issue of Post-Soviet Affairs, Olga Onuch et al., guest editors, vol. 34, nos. 2–3, Mar.-May 2018, pp. 158–78. Taylor and Francis Online, Informa UK, published online 15 Mar. 2018, https://doi.org/10.1080/1060586X.2018.1447769. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
- Golovakha, Yevhen, et al. Ukrainian Society in 1992–2018: Monitoring Social Changes. Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 2019.
- Green, Andy, et al. Regimes of Social Cohesion. LLAKES Research Paper 1, Centre for Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies, U College London, 2009. Digital Education Resource Archive (DERA), UCL Institute of Education, dera.ioe.ac.uk/10486/1/Z.-Regimes-of-Social-Cohesion.pdf. Accessed 5 June 2023.
- Hair, Joseph F., Jr., et al. Multivariate Data Analysis. 6th ed., Pearson Education, 2006.
- Harasymiw, Bohdan. Post-Communist Ukraine. Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies P, 2002.
- Hennig, Christian, et al., editors. Handbook of Cluster Analysis. CRC Press, 2015.
- Hrynenko, Anatolii, and Volodymyr Kyryliuk. “Sotsial'na zhurtovanist' suspil'stva v umovakh demokratiï.” Visnyk Kam"ianets'-Podil's'koho Natsional'noho Universitetu imeni Ivana Ohiienka: Ekonomichni nauky, vol. 11, 2016, pp. 220–26. Natsional'na Biblioteka Ukraïny imeni V. I. Vernads'koho, nbuv.gov.ua/UJRN/vkpnuen_2016_11_31. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025, PDF download.
- James, Paul. Nation Formation: Towards a Theory of Abstract Community.
- Sage Publications, 1996. Politics and Culture, edited by Bryan S. Turner.
- Jenson, Jane. “Mapping Social Cohesion: The State of Canadian Research.” CPRN Study No. F|03, Canadian Policy Research Networks, 1998. Academia, www.academia.edu/26949106/Mapping_Social_Cohesion_The_State_of_Canadian_Research. Accessed 5 June 2023.
- Karimov, Ravil'. Osnovy diskriminantnogo analiza: Uchebno-metodicheskoie posobiie. Saratovskii Gosudarstvennyi Tekhnicheskii U, 2002.
- Kuzio, Taras. “Identity and Nation-Building in Ukraine: Defining the ‘Other.’” Ethnicities, Stephen May and Tariq Modood, editors-in-chief, vol. 1, no. 3, Sept. 2001, pp. 343–65. Sage Journals, https://doi.org/10.1177/146879680100100304. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025, PDF download.
- Kytsak, Taras, and Volodymyr Kyryliuk, “Sotsial'no-trudovi aspekty sotsial'noï zhurtorvanosti suspil'stva.” Sotsial'no-trudovi vidnosyny: Teoriia ta praktyka [Kyiv], no. 2 (6), 2013, pp. 171–76. IRKNEU—Instytutsiinyi repozytarii, published 10 Oct. 2013, ir.kneu.edu.ua/handle/2010/4922. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025, PDF download.
- Noll, Heinz-Herbert. “Towards a European System of Social Indicators: Theoretical Framework and System Architecture.” Social Indicators Research, vol. 58, nos. 1–3, June 2002, pp. 47–87. Springer Nature Link, https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015775631413. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
- Onuch, Olga, and Henry E. Hale. “Capturing Ethnicity: The Case of Ukraine.” Identity Politics in Times of Crisis: Ukraine as a Critical Case, special issue of Post-Soviet Affairs, Onuch et al., guest editors, vol. 34, nos. 2–3, Mar.-May 2018, pp. 84–106. Taylor and Francis Online, Informa UK, published online 12 Apr. 2018, https://doi.org/10.1080/1060586X.2018.1452247. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
- Onuch, Olga, et al. “Studying Identity in Ukraine.” Identity Politics in Times of Crisis: Ukraine as a Critical Case, special issue of Post-Soviet Affairs, Onuch et al., guest editors, vol. 34, nos. 2–3, Mar.-May 2018, pp. 79–83. Taylor and Francis Online, Informa UK, published online 12 Apr. 2018, https://doi.org/10.1080/1060586X.2018.1451241. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
- Polunіeіev, Іuriі. “Sotsial'na zhurtovanist' iak skladova ekonomichnoho proryvu.” Naukovyi visnyk Uzhhorods'koho Universytetu: Seriia: Ekonomika, vol. 33, no. 1, Mar. 2011, pp. 161–66.
- Thanoon, Thanoon Y. “Using Cluster Analysis and Discriminant Analysis Methods in Classification with Application on Factor Scores Results.” Tikrit Journal of Administration and Economics Sciences, vol. 7, 2011, pp. 1–15. ResearchGate, Jan. 2011, www.researchgate.net/publication/311595105_Using_Cluster_Analysis_and_Discriminant_Analysis_Methods_in_Classification_with_Application_on_Factor_Scores_Results. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
- “Ukraine: Social Cohesion and Reconciliation Index.” SCORE, Centre for Sustainable Peace and Democratic Development, use.scoreforpeace.org/en/ukraine/2019-Schools-0. Accessed 26 Sept. 2023.