Tracking researchers in Ukraine through war and armed conflict: The limits of free scholarly mobility
A study based on publication data traces how researchers moved within Ukraine and across borders between 2009 and 2022, with conflict-affected regions losing scholars while others became increasingly important destinations. These shifts were already underway after Russia illegally annexed Crimea and fighting began in the Donbas in 2014, underscoring that scholarly mobility during conflict cannot…
A study analyzing publication data from 2009 to 2022 sheds light on how researchers have moved within Ukraine and internationally during conflict. The research, conducted by Michael Zaslavsky of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Aliakbar Akbaritabar of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research and the University of Rostock, reveals that conflict-affected regions experienced a loss of scholars, while other areas became more attractive destinations.
This shift in scholarly mobility was already evident after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and fighting began in the Donbas region in the same year.
The researchers utilized publication data, which serves as a digital trail of researchers' institutional affiliations, to track movements at a detailed geographical level. Their findings indicate that after the full-scale invasion of 2022, Ukrainian researchers faced significant displacement, but they had already been leaving affected regions for other parts of Ukraine and abroad since 2014.
Between 2015 and 2017, Donetsk and Luhansk regions lost more researchers to other parts of Ukraine than arrived, with a net loss of 54 in Donetsk and 46 in Luhansk per 1,000 actively publishing scholars.
Cross-border migration was also notable, particularly in Crimea, where international migration resulted in a net loss of approximately 117 researchers per 1,000. Additionally, Donetsk experienced a substantial international loss of about 66 per 1,000 researchers. These losses were influenced by various factors, with some regions seeing more scholars depart for foreign institutions while others saw fewer international arrivals. Despite these movements, more scholars left the eastern part of Ukraine than arrived.
The study also found that scholars did not necessarily remain in their preferred locations or attract new researchers, with even developed regions sometimes serving as points of departure. This challenges the assumption that scholars freely choose their career opportunities, as qualifications and international connections do not guarantee protection from forced displacement or ensure successful relocation.
The impact of wartime scholarly migration is significant for both the regions scholars leave and those that receive them, as their knowledge, professional networks, and collaborative opportunities are carried along.
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