Wartime (im) mobilities: Effects of Aspirations-Capabilities on Displaced Ukrainians in Canada and Germany and Their Viewpoints on Those Who Remain in Ukraine
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.
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The predominance of highly educated Ukrainians reflects the design of the CUAET programme.
“This predominance of highly educated Ukrainians reflects the design of the CUAET programme, as I outline below (cf.Karimi and Byelikova 2024).”
From Wages of whiteness contra refugee in the twenty-first century: Afghan and Ukrainian women’s self-identification as (non)refugees in Canada (2026) · cites this paper as Karimi and Byelikova 2024
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Karimi, A. (2026) · Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies · doi:10.1080/1369183x.2026.2693582 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Self-citation
- Authors
- Karimi, A., & Byelikova, Y.
- Affiliations
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Göttingen, Germany
- Corresponding author
- Karimi, Aryan
- ORCID
- Karimi, Aryan
- Venue
- Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2024-01-28
- Volume
- 50
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 2403-2422
- ISSN
- 1369-183X (ISSN-L)
- 1469-9451
- OpenAlex
- W4391290082
- Cited by
- 15
- References
- 54
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 3
- FWCI
- 10.80
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- UBC Hampton Grant
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Migration and Exile Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Migration, Refugees, and Integration
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Migration and Labor Dynamics
- Keywords
- forced migration, conscription, capital, emigration policy, Canada, Germany
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