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

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.