Abstract
The article focuses on the concepts of the Belarusian nation and identity articulated in the so-called intellectual constructs, i.e., projects or models of the nation which aspire to representing a clear alternative to the Lukashenko-backed predominant identification mode—a state-centred (civic) national project. The Belarusian intellectual community provides a plethora of concepts and ideas regarding the country's cultural, social, and political development.
Some of the mainstream paradigms included in the analysis—borderland, transculturality, creole nationalism, “sobornosť”, post-colonial and regional identity—have been elaborated by influential Belarusian authors I. Bobkov, V.
Akudovich, V. Abushenko, J.
Chernjavskaja, O. Shparaga, P.
Rudkovskij, J. Shevtsov.
The text is therefore an attempt to track the overall dynamics of contemporary Belarusian thinking as well as introduce local independent scholars' prevailing discourses.