Trust as an Indicator of the Transformation of Ukrainian Society and a Resource for Overcoming Social Trauma in Times of War
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17721/2306-3971-2026-01-21-21Keywords:
trust, social trauma, war, social interaction, resilience, resourcesAbstract
The purpose of the article is to examine the role of trust as an indicator of societal transformation in Ukraine and as a mechanism for coping with social trauma under wartime conditions, revealing the crisis-related, structural, and transformational dimensions of social trauma through the analytical lens of trust. The article substantiates that war acts not only as a factor of physical destruction and collective traumatization, but also as a catalyst for changes in the structure of social relations, mechanisms of solidarity, civic mobilization, and institutional interaction. It is determined that the category of trust makes it possible to comprehensively analyze the depth of social traumatization, the level of societal resilience, and the adaptive potential of society under conditions of a prolonged crisis. It is proven that during armed conflict trust performs the function of ensuring the coordination of collective actions, maintaining social integration, and shaping new horizontal models of interaction. It has been established that social trauma manifests itself through a crisis of institutional trust, the spread of social suspicion, moral pessimism, and the fragmentation of social ties; at the same time, war stimulates the development of new forms of solidarity, self-organization, and volunteer activity. It is demonstrated that trust is not only an indicator of the depth of social trauma, but also an important resource of societal resilience that determines society’s capacity for adaptation, self-organization, and post-war recovery.
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