Constitutional identity and national values in the conditions of permanent threats to Ukraine’s stateship

Abstract

The article explores the essence of constitutional identity, its connection with national identity, and the peculiarities of their implementation under the conditions of Ukraine’s permanent statehood threats. It emphasizes that, in a broad context, constitutional identity represents a system of certain values, principles, institutions, and traditions that are reflected at the normative and judicial levels, as well as in legal customs and the practice of constitutional implementation. The fundamental element of constitutional identity is values – significant goals and means of achieving them for every nation. Constitutional identity is formed by both national and universal values. According to the author, national identity, as the identity of the community that constitutes the source of constituent power, forms the foundation of constitutional identity. Constituent power is realized through the constitution, making elements of national identity (such as language, culture, religion, traditions, etc.) integral parts of constitutional identity. National identity embodies the collective identity of the community, while constitutional identity reflects this identity in the constitution. It incorporates the most significant and immutable provisions that express the «spirit» of the constitution. Thus, restrictions on certain types of constitutional amendments are intended to preserve the existing identity of the nation and prevent the removal of attributes without which it would lose its distinctiveness among other nations. The author pays particular attention to the issue of realizing constitutional and national identity under the constant threat to Ukraine’s sovereignty. Modern Ukraine finds itself on a challenging path toward forming its constitutional identity, which, due to historical reasons, has not been fully developed. The individual elements that have emerged during the years of independence have not coalesced into a coherent philosophical and ideological doctrine that would enable the Ukrainian national state to become an equal subject of international law and allow the Ukrainian people (nation) to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination. The future of the Ukrainian political nation is directly linked to European identity and the values of constitutionalism, among which the following play a decisive role: personal freedom and dignity, popular sovereignty and minority rights, political pluralism, judicial independence, and the legitimacy of public authority as a whole. Ukraine’s aspirations to integrate into the unified European legal space are reflected in the Constitution of Ukraine (amendments of February 7, 2019). This objective stems directly from Ukraine’s legal tradition and contemporary state-building practices. At the same time, the formation of a modern political nation in Ukraine is impossible without fostering a sense of civic patriotism and national dignity. This is crucial both for uniting a multiethnic country into a single people (nation) and for advancing state-building processes. Constitutional identity and national identity should become foundational elements of the political and legal ideology of the modern Ukrainian constitutional state.

Keywords

• constitutional identity
• national values
• national identity
• civic identity
• statehood