The escalation of Russian aggression against Ukraine in February 2022 resulted in the mass displacement and subsequent resettlement of refugees across Central-Eastern Europe, a region with little experience managing large inflows of displaced persons. How did governments manage the initial influx of refugees? What role did non-governmental and international organizations play in migration management? How have resettlement and integration efforts changed over time? In what ways have these developments restructured systems of migration management? To answer these questions, we analyze semi-structured, qualitative interviews with over twenty non-governmental organizations and government officials from the Czech and Slovak Republics. This analysis offers four key insights: (1) sustainability – the development of short- and long-term adaptation strategies in response to a rapidly changing environment; (2) substitution – civil society, funded by international donors, assumed responsibility for migration management; (3) structural vulnerability – pre-existing systemic gaps and vulnerabilities limited effective migration management; and (4) segmentation – variations in organization type influenced roles in migration management. Taken together, these findings provide valuable insight into how societies with relatively little experience in managing diversity adapt to unprecedented circumstances.
