Gendered Exclusion: Navigating Citizenship and Belonging Among Ukrainian Men Displaced Abroad EXILED
Name of applicant
Sofie Rose
Title
Postdoctoral Fellow
Institution
University of Vienna
Amount
DKK 1,968,000
Year
2024
Type of grant
Reintegration Fellowships
What?
On 18 May 2024, Ukraine implemented a new mobilization law, mandating all men aged 18-60 to register in the military system and suspended numerous civil rights for those who fail. Yet, draft evasion has emerged as a significant problem, with more than 1 million men of fighting-age fleeing Ukraine. The broader social impact of this exodus on citizenship, gender, and belonging is yet to be explored.
Why?
EXILED investigates how the growing social and political exclusion of draft evaders narrowly ties Ukrainian male identities to military service, affecting displaced men’s civil rights and their prospects of return and reintegration. The project unpacks how mobilization policies create a gendered hierarchy of citizenship, impacting gender dynamics and social cohesion in current and postwar Ukraine.
How?
Applying a gender lens to the analysis of legal and policy documents on mobilization and unique in-depth interviews with displaced Ukrainian men, EXILED explores how the exclusion of men who flee affects their identity and belonging while fundamentally reshaping the concept of citizenship along the intersecting lines of gender and military participation, with profound impacts on Ukrainian society.