«Guns or Butter»?: Political Populism as a Tool of Manipulation in the Context of Ukraine's Mobilization Economy

Abstract

The article examines the transformation of political populism as a manipulative technology in Ukraine under the conditions of a mobilization economy during the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war. The classical economic dichotomy of «guns or butter» is analyzed in the context of manipulative populist narratives used by political actors when communicating with Ukrainian society. The main manipulative techniques and methods of adapting populist rhetoric on economic issues are identified, particularly regarding the distribution of state resources between defense capabilities and social protection. The specifics of manipulative strategies in the economic discourse of populists on issues of budget priorities, tax policy, social guarantees, and mobilization economic measures are characterized. The article proposes a typology of manipulative populist strategies under the existential choice between ensuring the economic survival of the population and meeting the defense needs of the state.

It is substantiated that during wartime, there is a significant transformation of traditional populist economic promises, which are forced to adapt to new realities through manipulative techniques of influencing public consciousness. The research demonstrates that the dilemma between «economic survival» and «defense expenditures» becomes a central element in forming a new type of Ukrainian populism, which uses manipulative techniques to combine patriotic rhetoric with traditional populist economic narratives.

It is proven that manipulative populist rhetoric on economic issues during wartime is characterized by a higher level of differentiation of proposals, attempts to combine patriotic discourse with the protection of socio-economic rights through manipulation of public opinion, as well as focusing on issues of fair distribution of the war burden among different segments of the population.