The Role of Social Capital in Ex-combatant Reintegration : A case study of the Ukrainian Donbas war veterans' social, political and economic reintegration in Odessa

As a result of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, there are at present hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian Donbass War veterans who participated in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) and Joint Forces Operation (JFO) who must now reintegrate into civilian life. Despite the great number of veterans who need to be reintegrated socially, politically, and economically into Ukrainian society, there is currently no comprehensive policy for ex-combatant reintegration in Ukraine. Applying the concept of social capital and based on interviews, observations, and documents, this qualitative case study investigates the nature and the role of social resources in ATO/JFO veterans’ social, political, and economic reintegration in Odessa. The analysis revealed that in the lack of social trust, social cohesion, shared values, and generalized reciprocity within the wider society, veterans’ ability to generate bridging social ties were undermined. On the other hand, widespread norms of trust, particularistic reciprocity, cohesion, and solidarity within the veteran networks made research participants to rely more on their bonding social ties among veterans. The study also finds that in the absence of overarching reintegration programs, veterans’ bonding social ties contributed significantly to all spheres of their reintegration. Despite the inward-looking nature of bonding social capital that tends to reinforce exclusive identities and homogeneous groups, all veterans to varied extent describe their bonding social ties with former military comrades as an important factor in facilitating social, political, and economic reintegration.