A conceptual model of national resilience: from colonial violence to cultural resistance

SVITLANA SALNIKOVA, PhD in Sociology, Assistant Professor, Department of Methodology and Methods of Sociological Research, Faculty of Sociology, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (4d, Glushkova Avenue, Kyiv, 03680, Ukraine)

sv.salnikova@knu.ua

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6368-9480

SCOPUS ID: 56366614900

YURIY SAVELYEV, Candidate of Sciences in Philosophy, Doctor of Sciences in Sociology, Professor at the Department of Methodology and Methods of Sociological Research, Faculty of Sociology, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (4d, Glushkova Avenue, Kyiv, 03680, Ukraine)

yursave@knu.ua

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2023-4472

SCOPUS ID: 57189896685

ARTEMIY DEINEKA, Candidate of Sciences in Sociology, Assistant Professor at the Department of Theory and History of Sociology, Faculty of Sociology, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (4d, Glushkova Avenue, Kyiv, 03680, Ukraine)

artemiydeineka@knu.ua

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9266-5506

SCOPUS ID: 57218159381

MYKOLA SYDOROV, PhD in Mathematics, Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Methodology and Methods of Sociological Research, Faculty of Sociology, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (4d, Glushkova Avenue, Kyiv, 03680, Ukraine)

myksyd@knu.ua

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5333-8393

SCOPUS ID: 58662565000

YAROSLAV BURDIN, PhD Student in Sociology, Department of Methodology and Methods of Sociological Research, Faculty of Sociology, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (4d, Glushkova Avenue, Kyiv, 03680, Ukraine)

burdin_yaroslav@knu.ua

https://orcid.org/0009-0009-4284-1565

SCOPUS ID: 60369775300

This article analyzes approaches to studying the resilience of Ukrainian society under Russia's full-scale invasion and develops an integrated conceptual model of societal resilience. Using systematic review and conceptual modelling, the authors map interconnections between societal resilience, agency, cultural resistance, and violence — categories that have thus far developed largely within separate strands of research. The analysis identifies three main conceptual approaches to the sources of resilience: the institutional approach (institutions' capacity to function and coordinate responses under pressure), the socio-psychological approach (capacity to adapt, cope with trauma, and sustain trust and cohesion), and the cultural-values approach (shared values, national identity, and cultural practices as sources of meaning for resisting existential threats). Despite their differences, all three converge around social agency as the mechanism that converts available resources and opportunities into national resilience. The study's main contribution is integrating Galtung's multidimensional concept of structural violence with theories of cultural resistance, agency, and complex adaptive systems into a single generative model, showing how societies transform experiences of domination, violence, and threats into collective action and resilient outcomes, with cultural resistance as the central generative mechanism. This is a first attempt to combine the dimensions of resilience as capacity, process, and outcome within a single analytical framework. The model is preliminary and serves as a foundation for further theoretical development and empirical testing in diverse contexts, with Ukraine as a key case for understanding resilience under extreme and prolonged violence.

Keywords: societal resilience, cultural resistance, social agency, violence, social change, Ukraine

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Received 10.08.2026

Accepted for publication after review 18.08.2026

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A conceptual model of national resilience: from colonial violence to cultural resistance

stmm. 2026 (3): 5-22

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/sociology2026.03.005

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