Authors

Marnie Howlett¹;  ¹ University of Oxford, UK

Discussion

The ways that forced displacement shapes individuals’ understandings of their identities and senses of selves is one particularly understudied area. As forced displacement fundamentally disrupts the ways in which people relate to themselves, their surroundings, and others, displaced persons must consequently find ways to (re)define themselves within their host communities, at least temporarily. This is further complicated in situations wherein individuals are internally displaced, as, when migrating to other areas of their state, IDPs simultaneously become categorised as displaced persons (and thus ‘outsiders’) and as citizens (and therefore ‘insiders’). Although indeed complementary, these identities can also fundamentally stand in opposition and breed tensions, especially vis-a-vis others in their host communities, which only become more acute the longer the war continues. As the unique ways IDPs understand their own identities following their displacements are critical for theoretical and empirical studies of migration, this paper examines how internally displaced Ukrainian women understand their identities and relationships with Ukraine following their forced displacements as a consequence of Russia’s war on Ukraine. To do so, this study draws on fifty in-depth interviews and a survey of 1000 with internally displaced Ukrainian women. The findings not only push forward theoretical and empirical discussions of internal displacement, but are important for policymaking about internal displacement in Ukraine and other conflict-affected societies.