Lived experiences of conflict-induced socioeconomic vulnerability in Tigray, Ethiopia: a qualitative capability approach study

Abstract Armed conflict can deepen socioeconomic vulnerability by disrupting livelihoods, essential services, and opportunities to achieve valued ways of living, yet the differentiated experiences of marginalized groups remain insufficiently understood. This study explores postwar socioeconomic vulnerability among marginalized populations in Tigray, Ethiopia, following the 2020–2022 war, focusing on how social position shaped deprivation and recovery constraints. Using a qualitative design guided by Sen’s Capability Approach, data were collected through 12 focus group discussions ( n = 96), 24 in-depth interviews, and 24 key informant interviews across six war-affected study sites. Thematic analysis examined experiences across livelihood, occupation, health, and education. Findings show that disrupted livelihoods, employment, healthcare, and education constrained substantive opportunities and interacted with pre-existing disadvantages, including disability-related barriers, age-related dependency, gender inequalities, household circumstances, displacement, and weakened social support. Experiences varied across groups: persons with disabilities and destitute female-headed households faced pronounced barriers to economic participation and recovery, whereas orphans and older adults more often experienced dependency, disrupted support, and reduced agency. The study’s key contribution is to show how postwar vulnerability is shaped through the interaction between conflict-related disruptions and differentiated conversion factors rather than through material loss alone. By bringing these group-specific pathways into a capability-based analysis, the study provides novel qualitative evidence on the social differentiation of post-conflict vulnerability and demonstrates why recovery strategies must restore both resources and the substantive opportunities of marginalized populations to rebuild their lives.