Postcolonial Struggles and Symbolic Capital: Ukrainian Political Elites’ Perceptions of Russia
Journal: Sprawy Narodowościowe Seria nowa
Year: 2026

This article explores how symbolic and cultural capitals shape the perceptions of Ukrainian political elites regarding Russia as a geopolitical threat, focusing on the transformations since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Using Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practice, the paper argues that elite perceptions are not only reactions to external events but also products of internal struggles within the political field, influenced by elites’ position