Shades of protracted displacement: reconciling citizenship and the status of internally displaced in Eastern Ukraine

Abstract

Following the war in Eastern Ukraine, 1.7 million internally displaced people (IDPs) from the Donbas region and returnees were required to maintain their IDP status to access state welfare provisions and freedom of movement. The policy regime of displacement enforced by the Ukrainian state and by the quasi-state formations in the region created marginalising and discriminatory effects for the people struggling to understand their new position vis-a-vis the state. As a result, they designed and employed various strategies to escape the differentiation displacement produced and reinstate their citizenship and belonging. This article explores the Ukrainian case of protracted displacement in light of the current escalation with millions more displaced. The research is based on the qualitative material collected in 2020 and 2021 on both sides of the ‘contact line’ in Eastern Ukraine by means of qualitative interviews and ethnographic observations. The paper contributes to the debate on protracted displacement by showing how people relate to and negotiate the IDP status and reaffirm their citizenship in narratives and interactions with the state. The case of displacement in Ukraine shows the power of social citizenship for people to resist the marginalising processes from within the bounds of citizenship.