1st Edition
From Reception to Integration of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Poland
This book sheds light on the complex experiences of asylum seekers and refugees in Poland, against a local backdrop of openly anti-refugee political narratives and strong opposition to sharing the responsibility for, and burden of, asylum seekers arriving in the EU.
Through a multidimensional analysis, it highlights the processes of forced migrant admission, reception and integration in a key EU frontier country that has undergone a rapid migration status change from a transit to a host country. The book examines rich qualitative material drawn from interviews conducted with forced migrants with different legal statuses and with experts from public administration at the central and local levels, NGOs, and other institutions involved in migration governance in Poland. It discusses both opportunities for and limitations on forced migrants’ adaptation in the social, economic, and political dimensions, as well as their access to healthcare, education, the labour market, and social assistance.
This book will be of particular interest to scholars, students, policymakers, and practitioners in migration and asylum studies, social policy, public policy, international relations, EU studies/European integration, law, economics, and sociology.
List of Figures
List of Tables
About the Authors
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
1. Introduction
2. Poland’s Position on the Map of Forced Mobility in the European Context
3. Securitisation of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Political and Media Discourses
4. The Institutional and Legal Basis of the Asylum System
5. Experiences in Accessing International Protection
6. Access of Asylum Seekers and Refugees to Education: The Case of Polish Language Learning
7. Access to Housing by Asylum Seekers and Beneficiaries of International Protection
8. Integration of Asylum Seekers and Refugees on the Labour Market
9. Access to Healthcare by Asylum Seekers and Beneficiaries of International Protection
10. Until they Become Citizens: Refugees’ Rights, Civic Participation, and Belonging
11. Conclusions
Index
Biography
Karolina Sobczak-Szelc is an Assistant Professor at the Centre of Migration Research of the University of Warsaw and the Centre for Advanced Studies of Population and Religion, Cracow University of Economics, Poland.
Marta Pachocka is a Head of the Migration Policies Research Unit at the Centre of Migration Research of the University of Warsaw and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Studies of SGH Warsaw School of Economics, Poland.
Konrad Pędziwiatr is a Professor in the Department of International Affairs of Cracow University of Economics and a Deputy Director of the Centre for Advanced Studies of Population and Religion, Cracow University of Economics, Poland.
Justyna Szałańska is a Research Assistant at the Collegium of Socio-Economics in SGH Warsaw School of Economics and an Affiliate of the Centre of Migration Research of the University of Warsaw, Poland.
Monika Szulecka is a Research Assistant at the Institute of Law Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences and an Affiliate of the Centre of Migration Research of the University of Warsaw, Poland.
'The emergence of this book in our intellectual landscape is timely, as we seek to better understand Russia in an era when systematic political, economic, social, and even cultural approaches have failed to explain or predict the current resurrection of the “Soviet Leviathan.” Indeed, perhaps “the devil is hidden in the details,” and by diving yet again into these minute but culturally rich details of Soviet banal routine, spiritual life, and rituals, we can make a step forward in our comprehension of why the dark side of “Soviet civilization” keeps reemerging again and again.'
Oksana Ermolaeva, Europe Now
