Development of Social Capital in the Situation of Migration Intensification

Abstract

An intensification of migration is currently being observed in Poland, which is posing a challenge for the society. This situation creates diverse dilemmas, including the crucial problem of the state of the social capital and public trust. The society is seeking ways to overcome the economic, political, psychological barriers to the development of social capital in the presence of immigrants. These searches are leading to a deeper analysis of national identity, the foundations of creating and reviving the sense of “we-community”. The development of the cross-cultural communication process, communication between representatives of different cultures and carriers of different national identities is objectively complex. Therefore, it needs a transition from considering problems at the level of everyday practices to communing at the level of basic humanistic values, to explain that they are common and to create on this basis a basic community of everyday practices organized on the principles of partnership. Describing the statistical image of immigration of Ukrainians to Poland, we also demonstrate the features of this process which are not fully reflected in public statistics. For we analyse the process of development of governing practices that regulate migration from above, as well as bottom-up processes. There are several factors emphasized, namely the development of social initiatives, civic activities for optimizing the functioning of cultural diversity within the society, organizing the system of cooperation practices of its “new” and “old” members for the development of society as a whole, and the social capital growth - at the level of the country, region, and an organization.