91. Dr Greta Uehling - Understanding the Donbas: Identity, People, and its role in the Russia-Ukraine War

 

Today, I spoke with Dr Greta Uehling, who is a lecturer at the University of Michigan and whose scholarship is concerned with international migration and forced displacement. Her most recent project explored the subjective experience of the military conflict and forced displacement in Ukraine. Based on years of research living in Ukraine, she documented how the military conflict that started in 2014 reconfigured social worlds and how these social worlds became the site of a different, everyday kind of war. She recently published a book stemming from this research titled ‘Everyday War: The Conflict over Donbas, Ukraine’. 

 

Some of the topics we covered are:

·       Greta's background, entry into anthropology, and her fieldwork in Ukraine

·       The birth of her book 'Everyday War: The Conflict over Donbas, Ukraine'

·       Meaning and manifestations of 'Everyday War'

·       Unique identity of the Donbas in Ukraine and its role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict

·       Importance of cultural and social immersion for understanding context

·       Perception differences of the war in different parts of Ukraine (2014-2022)

·       Impact of war on interpersonal relationships and fallout management strategies

·       Defining and contextualising 'Everyday Peace'

·       The story of the 'Black Tulips'

·       Influence of war on risk perception and redefinition of 'normal'

·       Prospects of peace in Ukraine

 

During this episode, I referred to a discussion with a previous guest, Tomislav Cvitanusic. You can listen to that episode here.