Engagement from afar. A multi-sited ethnography of the Ukrainian diaspora’s responses to war
Grant-awarding entity: Narodowe Centrum Nauki
ABSTRACT
The goal of the research is to understand how the Russian invasion of 2022 affects the relationship of the Ukrainian diaspora with their ancestral homeland and the countries of their current residence. The project also explores various responses to the war undertaken by Ukrainians living abroad, with a particular focus on acts of political and civic engagement. The research maps symbolic acts of solidarity, various material forms of support, participation in protests, volunteering to support refugees or direct forms of engagement such as taking part in combat.
The study is conducted using innovative research techniques — biographical interviews ‘following’ the subjects, accompanied by visual ethnography and multisensory participant observation to capture individuals and groups in action, along with elements of digital ethnography that explore diasporas’ activities on social and media platforms.
The results of the study will broaden the understanding of diaspora engagement with their countries of origin and their host countries in the context of new and ongoing conflicts.