Group-affirmation and trust in international relations: Evidence from Ukraine

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 15; no. 12; p. e0239944
• Main Authors: Chung, Eunbin, Pechenkina, Anna O.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 31.12.2020; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Between-subjects design; Biology and Life Sciences; Conflict; Female; History, 21st Century; Hostility; Humans; Hypotheses; International relations; Internationality - history; Male; Middle Aged; Military aspects; National identity; People and Places; Political aspects; Political science; Polls & surveys; Psychology; Public Opinion; Public opinion research; Registered Report Protocol; Research and Analysis Methods; Russia; Security; Social Sciences; Sociology; Surveys and Questionnaires - statistics & numerical data; Trust; Trust - psychology; Ukraine; Warfare and Armed Conflicts - history; Warfare and Armed Conflicts - psychology; Ukraine; Russia; United States > US; Utah
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0239944

How can states with a history of recent armed conflict trust one another? Distrust between Ukraine and Russia aggravates security fears and limits hopes for a meaningful resolution of the bloodiest armed conflict in Europe since 1994. Hostility levels have risen dramatically between the populations of Ukraine and Russia after the events of 2013–2015. Political psychology offers two competing approaches to increase trust between the publics of different countries: appealing to an overarching, common identity above the national level vs. affirming a sense of national identity. This project asks which of these approaches increases trust towards Russia among the Ukrainian public. The study employs a survey experiment (between-subjects design) to evaluate these competing claims. The survey is to be fielded by a reputable public opinion research firm, the Kiev International Institute of Sociology, based in Ukraine.