Poland has long been a country of net emigration, though the country has received backlash in recent years for its xenophobic treatment towards asylum seekers from non-European countries, versus its treatment of Ukrainian asylum seekers. To explore this phenomenon, this research first asks, does Poland have a preferential migration policy? I first look at the restrictiveness and evolution of Poland's migration policy from 2003-2019. I find that the state's migration policies which specifically target EU member and Eastern European states are on average slightly less restrictive than the restrictiveness of the entire population of policies. In the following chapter I ask, how is this policy implemented, and how is it reflected in Poland's migrant workforce? To explore how these policies are implemented, I look at work permit data from 2010-2020, analyzing the differences in the number of work permits granted to each country of origin over time. I find that migrants from Eastern European and Central Asian states receive a disproportionately high number of work permits compared to other regions, and that within the region, Ukrainians receive the highest number of permits each year. Finally, to better understand this inequality, my fourth chapter asks, why Ukraine specifically? In this analysis, I hypothesize that proximity and cultural similarities, Poland's security interests, and both states' economic interests drive this special migration relationship. I find mixed support for this hypothesis, but ultimately find that these factors do play important roles in maintaining the relationship between Poland and Ukraine. / Master of Arts / Poland has traditionally been a country where more migrants leave than arrive, but in the past few years, it has faced criticism for its differing attitudes toward asylum seekers based on their country of origin, particularly in its welcoming stance toward Ukrainians as opposed to migrants from non-European countries. In exploring this phenomenon, my research examines whether Poland has a preferential migration policy. I analyze policy to understand this phenomenon of accused hypocrisy in order to understand if these inequalities are built into Poland's legislation, or if there are other factors at play. I first look at the evolution of Polish migration policies from 2003 to 2019 and find that the policies targeting EU and Eastern European countries are generally less strict than those aimed at other regions. However, the differences that I find in strictness are not drastic enough for me to argue that Poland has a discriminatory migration policy. To see how these policies are put into practice, especially in the workforce, I then analyze work permit data from 2010 to 2020. This data shows that Eastern European and Central Asian migrants, particularly Ukrainians, receive significantly more work permits than those from other regions. This trend raises the question: Why is Ukraine a special case? I hypothesize that geographical closeness, cultural similarities, Poland's security concerns, and mutual economic benefits are key factors that influence this unique migration relationship. Although the support I find for this hypothesis varies, I find that ultimately these factors highlight how important aspects of the states' relationship, like geography, culture, security, and economic interests, shape the unique bond between Poland and Ukraine. This study sheds light on the complexities and nuances of national migration policies and their real-world implications, especially in Central European EU member states.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/119034 |
| Date | 17 May 2024 |
| Creators | Schlitzer, Abigail Augusta |
| Contributors | Political Science, Pula, Besnik, Brantly, Aaron F., Kitchens, Karin E. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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