Russia's war against Ukraine has triggered unprecedented levels of forced displacement into the European Union (EU) and neighbouring countries. As of November 2023, there are almost six million Ukrainian refugees in Europe. While Ukrainians were quickly offered temporary protection status, it is currently uncertain what status they will be granted thereafter. However, many forcibly displaced people plan to remain in the EU even after the war ends.
A new project- MAGnituDe: Migration, Affective Geopolitics, and European Democracy in Times of Military Conflicts, funded under Horizon Europe*, will investigate the consequences of mass population displacement in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine for European democracy and present evidence-based strategies to combat negative trends such as growing social antagonism and identity fragmentation.
MAGnituDE amounts to €3,000,000 and will be led by Olga Sasunkevich, Associate Professor in Gender Studies at the Department of Cultural Sciences at the University of Gothenburg. It engages three departments at the University of Gothenburg and in total nine institutions from different countries - both universities and non-profit organisations. Besides Olga Sasunkevich, Andrea Spehar, Associate Professor in Political Science at the department of Political Science, and Oksana Shmulyar Gréen, Associate Professor in Sociology at the Department of Sociology and Work Science, will be involved in the project.
- "It is a great honour for us to get funding for MAGnituDe. For many researchers in the consortium the Russian-Ukrainian war is very personal. And while I never fully believed we could get this funding, which I was honest about with my colleagues, I also felt that we were the best team to do this kind of research. We hope that the project will bring important insights in migration research and policies in the EU countries" (Olga Sasunkevich).
*Horizon Europe is a seven-year European Union scientific research initiative.
Text: Alice Johansson
