Local impacts, global consequences: assessing the mass displacement and migration tied to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Abstract

ABSTRACT Since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the region’s dynamics have shifted considerably calling for an interdisciplinary assessment of the reverberating effects at home and abroad. This special issue of Canadian Foreign Policy Journal contributes to contemporary public affairs, refugee, migration, and diaspora studies by offering an overview of the broad impacts underway. The issue’s international authors give readers an opportunity to listen to voices addressing all levels of the invasion’s challenges–socially, politically, and economically–uniting thematic and regional expertise on this urgent topic while making linkages between Canada and the region. Their contributions bridge the disciplines of history, geography, political science, architecture, sociology, public policy, and philosophy. This introductory text provides an initial reflection on the pressing issues, summarizing the broad consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while outlining each author’s distinct contribution. In addition to discussions of the invasion's consequences, it also begins to frame the resultant openings—and challenges—of greater regional pluralism moving forward, as refugees and internally displaced persons leave their homes and interact with new host societies, both domestically and internationally. This special issue looks across the affected region while offering a unique view overseas into the impacts here in Canada.