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Paper short abstract:

Reconstruction efforts in conflict-affected countries are largely shaped by external stakeholders and interventions. This paper explores the potential contribution of displaced academics to reconstruction and recovery in conflict-affected contexts.

Paper long abstract:

The displacement of academics can impact their conflict-affected countries considerably, not only through the loss of human capital but also through the deterioration of intellectual and professional life of society at large. The reconstruction process in those countries has been arguably shaped by geopolitical contestations and neoliberal and Western agendas that might contradict the needs and aspirations of local communities. While the engagement of diasporic communities with their home countries has been largely explored, the potential contribution of displaced academics (DAs) to reconstruction, as encompassed within a broader concept of development (Suhrke, 2007), is overlooked. Drawing on longitudinal data obtained via an interview-diary-interview study design, and employing the Capability Approach, this paper explores the perceived and imagined contribution of 20 displaced Syrian academics to reconstruction in Syria. The paper offers a nuanced understanding of reconstruction from the local perspective of DAs and of the different forms of their potential engagement in this process. The paper argues that reconstruction efforts by DAs could be informally and individually enacted, without a formal affiliation with an organisation or institution, and also collectively as a diasporic community through networks. Displaced academics’ capabilities to contribute to reconstruction are conceptualised at three levels: for education, in education, and through education (in its different forms and stages). The study has implications for policy makers, local and international institutions, governments, and for other conflict-affected settings. It underscores the importance of supporting displaced academics individually and collectively as a community, to ensure meaningful and relevant reconstruction processes and outcomes.