Walka o wiarygodność. Narracje i storytelling w ukraińskiej komunikacji strategicznej

Abstract

The article refers to the communications carried out by Ukraine’s official Instagram account (ukraine.ua). Until February 24, 2022, it served as the country’s branding tool to promote the country’s tourism assets. On the day the war escalated, the account did not suspend its activities, but instead changed its content and target audience, and became an element of Ukrainian strategic communications. At the same time, the Instagram profile continues to be a component for branding the Ukrainian state and society, even though crisis and wars tend to hinder the shaping of a country’s image in the international arena. The author of the article applies a qualitative method to analyse published messages from the first few days of the war, paying special attention towards storytelling, i.e. narrative construction and the image of the society fighting against the occupying forces. The purpose of the article is to verify the thesis that Ukrainian narratives use universal patterns derived from pop culture messages and refer to archetypes commonly used in branding. These messages are key for Ukrainian external communications, which are focused on building both a coherent and credible image of a country invaded.