Wartime (im)mobilities: effects of aspirations-capabilities on displaced Ukrainians in Canada and Germany and their viewpoints on those who remain in Ukraine

Abstract

ABSTRACT In war times, what differentiates those who manage to flee from those who remain behind? Based on 468 qualitative interview and survey responses with displaced Ukrainians’ in Canada and Germany, and the aspirations-capabilities framework, we identify how macro-level policies and individual resources and aspirations combine to shape wartime (im)mobility outcomes. Canada and Germany have relaxed their entry-stay policies to facilitate the displaced populations’ arrival while Ukraine has implemented exit restrictions for conscript men aged 18–60 and, by extension, for the family members who decide to stay with them in Ukraine. Accordingly, individuals with high pre-war migration aspirations and capital have arrived in Canada, those with mid-ranging aspirations and capital have arrived in Germany, and those with high aspirations to be with the draftees have remained in Ukraine. We make a threefold contribution to forced migration studies. We argue that war acts as an amplifier of preexisting migration aspirations for some individuals, that wartime exit restriction is a distinct example of macro-level emigration policies, and that a proactive-stay-aspirations component extends the aspirations-capabilities framework’s conceptual range.