PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC INTEGRATION OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS

Abstract

Internal migration is one of the most significant consequences of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The social impacts of the war include the demographic changes in Ukrainian regions. We can identify the three groups of regions: (1) regions from where the population is forced to leave, (2) transit regions, as well as (3) recipient regions (those taking on the biggest burden due to the reception of internally displaced persons). In addition to purely humanitarian tasks (resettlement of people, providing them with food, medicines, etc.), regions and communities faced the task of ensuring their own economic stability as a stabilizing factor of the national economy in the midst of a complex military and political situation. The authors of the article propose to analyze the consequences of internal migration as drivers strengthening the labor potential in the Ukrainian recipient communities and recipient regions. It is substantiated that the human capital of internally displaced persons should be perceived as one of the drivers of local and regional development. In the framework of the article, the argumentation is based on the assumption that the military actions are long-term (the “war of attrition” scenario), and after the end of military actions, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and relocated enterprises will not be able to return to the territory of their permanent residence for a long period of time (until the infrastructure is restored, the housing stock is reconstructed, and demining and other measures are completed). According to this approach, it is necessary to clarify three levels of state regional policies: (1) placing IDPs in safe locations and ensuring satisfactory living conditions for them; (2) assisting in the use of IDP’s human capital within the framework of the regional economy; (3) facilitating inclusive governance and the inclusion of IDPs in the life of host communities and regions. At the same time, the authors of the article emphasize the following: it is necessary to prevent the creation of institutional obstacles for the reintegration of IDPs into places of permanent residence, which can lead to disparities in regional and community development.

Keywords

• internally displaced persons
• recipient communities
• recipient regions
• relocation
• inclusivity