Introduction. Social Expectations in Conditions of War: At the Intersection of Theoretical and Empirical Inquiries

Abstract: The specifics of constructing social reality in conditions of extreme forms of social instability and uncertainty, prolonged exposure to existential threats, are determined. The process of influencing social expectations on the construction of interactions in a situation of high social instability is conceptualized based on the fact that in moments of crisis, the unpredictability of the future is not absolute, but variable. The performativity of social expectations helps actors temporarily ignore the uncertainty of the future, distinguish some future scenarios as more likely or more attractive than others, and imply obligations regarding specific future possibilities. War causes a generalization and a certain unification of social expectations, which ultimately focus on the point of cessation of the destruction of everyday life; therefore, the temporal aspect of expectations is conceptualized through the markers “before the war”, “during the war” and “after the war”.