Does the “Generation of Freedom” Really Exist? Evidence from Qualitative Research among Polish and Ukrainian Students

Abstract

Thirty years after the onset of democratisation in Central and Eastern Europe, the first generations of post-communist societies have been raised, educated and become professionally active. Objectively, they are a specific group of people whose primary and secondary socialisation occurred during a period that differed profoundly from that of their parents and older acquaintances. The article presents the results of a qualitative study conducted among Polish and Ukrainian students to diagnose their subjective generational self-identifications. The aim of the study was to determine whether and how young people in both countries perceive themselves and their social environment, and whether they identify themselves in terms of a unique generation.