A dynamic approach to localness in the context of conflict-affected internal displacement and return in Ukraine

Abstract

In the article, the special aspects shaping the choice of internally displaced persons to integrate into a host community or return to the former place of residence are viewed in the context of protracted internal displacement triggered by Russia-backed armed conflict in eastern Ukraine. Due to the inaccessibility of the reliable data on the population of the temporarily occupied regions of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine, the data on internally displaced persons and returnees from the sample of International Organization for Migration, 2018–2020, have been used to study the contexts of adaptation and return, such as reasons to integrate or go back to an unsafe environment. The author suggests an application of refrain (after Deleuzian ritournelle), as a unity of the aspects of chaos, abode, and escape, to the situation of internal displacement. The key observations make it possible to suggest that forming and change of localness imply either the ritournelle missed as a disrupted adaptation and return, or the ritournelle achieved when displaced newcomers become new locals in the host communities. Thus, localness is regarded as a dynamic characteristic that can be boosted or reshaped through treating the displaced persons as equals, in terms of benefits and burdens distribution, providing access to decision-making, and promoting the sense of belonging to a community. The study is also aimed at formulating the questions for future investigations of the group of returnees, and thus shaping the criteria for the assessment of future durable solutions and reintegration scenarios.

Youth views on the role of local government and universities in the development of deoccupied territories

“…This is often associated with the problematic integration of IDPs into new communities (Niemets et al, 2020;Sakhanienko et al, 2021). In addition, the desire to return home is facilitated by the feeling of belonging to the former community and place of residence and nostalgic reflections on pre-conflict life (Balinchenko, 2021).…”

(In)visibility of the Displaced Populations: the Blind-Spot Effect

“…(Deleuze and Guattari 1987;353) The Deleuzean unity of chaos, abode and escape can be applied to protracted internal displacement when both return and adaptation to the host community are possible. The dynamic localness acquisition becomes a refrain of adjustment and rejection, on several levels: (1) systemic adaptation to the new place of residence and the norms associated with the IDPstatus; (2) interpersonal communication, such as trust and the reliance of internally displaced persons (IDPs) on locals, the transition from newcomer to new local; (3) unanchoring from the former place of residence and embedding into the host community through transformations in the sense of belonging (Bazaluk and Balinchenko 2020;Balinchenko 2021).…”