Ways and Prospects of Enriching the Methodological Arsenal of Ukrainian Studies

The monograph "The National Imaginary as a Factor of Social Integration" contains a number of theoretical ideas and concepts that can be useful to specialists in Ukrainian studies in understanding their issues. Even when these concepts, at first glance, are not directly related to the social reality of modern Ukraine, there is a “space of development prospects” for their application. After all, in a globalized world, everything is interconnected not only by external connections, but also by immanent trends, the demands of transformational change. In this context, research into the national imaginary takes on great importance. Such studies allow us to study and conceptualize the influences of collective perceptions, assumptions, expectations, and customs on the formation and development of political ideologies, as well as to analyze the emergence and transformation of national identity. At the same time, against the backdrop of deepening social stratification, regionalization, and intensification of migration and resettlement processes both in the world and in Ukraine due to both external and internal reasons, promoting the restoration of broken social ties becomes of particular importance. Thus, the national imaginary appears as a factor that – in all its dimensions and nuances – influences the development, legitimization and implementation of relevant development programs and strategies. Part of the monograph contains detailed reviews of theories and practices of social integration in the modern world, the transformation of the national imaginary in the context of the transition to the global era, the integrative potential of the so-called "secular religions". The other part of the book is more focused not on the future, but on the present and, to a certain extent, on clarifying the past. This is about the real and the imaginary in national consciousness and the use of socio-historical mythology by totalitarian systems to integrate national communities around projects of external aggression and global and regional domination. Overall, the monograph is a professional collective work and is capable of enriching the methodological arsenal of Ukrainian studies.