Trust Networks, Human Security and the Determinants of Migration Decisions: The Case of Global Refugees in Ukraine

Abstract

How do international policies influence the formation of social networks and inform social action? Using in-depth biographical interviews, this paper explores factors influencing the formation of trust networks among dis-placed persons with interview, ethnographic, and case file archive data from a recent study of refugees in Ukraine. Analyzing the life histories of individuals and families from Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iran, and Palestine this study finds that factors such as the geopolitical relationships between origin and host countries, duration of the journey, immigration laws and international policies, as well as the original goal of coming to the host country combine and intersect to drive the formation of trust networks. These trust networks provide resources enabling or constraining settlement or mobility. As such, the central argument of this paper is that international migration policies play key but divergent roles for migration decisions of different refugees based on the constraints and opportunities in place for the development of rooted or mobile social networks. This work follows the suggestion of Charles Tilly to examine the impact of migrant "trust networks" as the key to understanding how social ties are maintained in a transnational social world, building bridges between the study of forced migration and refugee studies.