Cross-border cooperation for minimizing negative stereotypes during wartime

Amid social transformations and geopolitical turbulence, the conditions for the sustainable development of countries, regions, and communities hold particular importance. In fostering societal unity, a crucial role is played by the harmonization of interethnic relations, which are often hindered by negative ethno-national and ethno-regional stereotypes of mutual perception. To minimize these stereotypes, a comprehensive analysis is required of their underlying premises, their emergence and manifestation, as well as the development of proposals for interaction between public authorities and civil society institutions to counteract negative stereotypes. Of particular interest in this context is the state and dynamics of interethnic relations in the territory of the "Upper Prut" Euroregion, which encompasses administrative units from Ukraine, Romania, and the Republic of Moldova. This Euroregion is also multiethnic, characterized by its own specificities, historical origins of ethno-national issues, and, like many border regions, can be classified as an ethnoregion based on its characteristics. The definition of this concept was formulated by the contemporary Ukrainian researcher Petro Nadolishnyi as "a relevant territory that, through the interconnected ethnic elements, the nature and intensity of ethnic processes, differs from other territories and can be considered an independent object of state ethno-national policy." In other words, it is a space where the ethno-national factor is highly concentrated. The Euroregion has distinct features in shaping ethno-national and ethno-regional stereotypes, as well as specific dynamics in the interaction between public authorities and civil society institutions in minimizing negative stereotypes of mutual perception. Understanding these processes during wartime is of paramount importance.