Resilience of the population's quality of life: projection of the impact of dominant structural social changes and external threats

Abstract

Abstract: The article addresses the issue of the formation and implementation of regional policies aimed at ensuring adequate resilience of the population’s quality of life in the regions of Ukraine under conditions of full-scale war, as well as the associated threats and structural changes. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the spatially differentiated features of the formation of resilience of the population’s quality of life in the regions of Ukraine under conditions of full-scale war through the identification of dominant structural socio-economic changes, key external threats, and their consequences. The methodological framework of the study is based on systemic and structural-functional approaches, as well as methods of comparative regional analysis, typologization, and generalization. Results. The regions of Ukraine are grouped according to the level of security risks and their functional role within the national socio-economic space: frontline and near-frontline regions, regions with increased security risks, central regions, western border regions, and metropolitan and agglomeration regions. The findings indicate that frontline territories are primarily characterized by deindustrialization, depopulation, and the reorientation of the economy toward survival functions, which shapes a model of “minimum stabilization resilience.” In regions with heightened risks, militarization of economic activity, the strengthening of the public sector, and labor market transformation prevail. Central regions demonstrate a concentration of administrative and logistical functions and the activation of the domestic market, western border regions are marked by intensified cross-border integration, while metropolitan areas show a concentration of human capital and accelerated digitalization. At the same time, each group faces specific external threats ranging from direct military actions to infrastructural overload and dependence on external financial and technological resources. Conclusions. It is concluded that the resilience of quality of life is multidimensional in nature and is shaped by the interaction of structural transformations and security risks. Its type varies from “survival resilience” to “development-oriented resilience” depending on the regional context, which necessitates a differentiated state and regional policy aimed at recovery and long-term development.