National Mentality and Risks of the Transformation of Belarusian Society

The article analyzes the socio-cultural risks of the modernization of Belarusian society as well as the opportunities to minimize these through communication mechanisms of cultural tradition. Since in the postmodern conditions social transformation takes the form of a “reflexive” modernization, its inherent risks should be considered as closely linked with globalization of culture, in particular, with glocalization, pluralization of social identity, hybridization of cultural traditions, fragmentation of the “lifeworld” and of the nation’s historical memory. The author considers various levels of the structure of cultural tradition, paying special attention to the national mentality as its basic layer. The goal of this paper is to show how the specific features of Belarusian mentality become sources of risk and to reveal the role of cultural traditions in preventing or reducing such risks. Analyzing different strategies for constructing the national identity, the author defines the vulnerabilities involved. It argues that the formation of modern forms of national identity in Belarusian society is due to interaction of at least two identification models: the “strong” and “weak” ones. By analyzing the specifics of the “strong” national identity of Belarusians, the author notes that its poles – the nationalist and the patriotic ones – are largely compatible and do not respond to the most urgent challenges. On the contrary, the model of a “weak” identity has a high capacity to adapt to the conditions of “reflexive” modernization. This model is implemented in the process of constructing a pluralistic civic identity of Belarusians, but it has potential risks, especially in conditions of geopolitical turbulence and external pressure on Belarusian society. A reflexive attitude to the past is considered a possibility to minimize such risks, to avoid or to limit potential adverse impacts of social mobilization or national identity construction. It is emphasized that discussions about the past should be carried out in the form of a dialogue that meets the rules and requirements of communicative rationality.

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