Migration und Migrationspolitik im Zuge des Transformationsprozesses seit 1989 – am Beispiel Polen.

Abstract

In political science Poland is a popular choice for transformation research, either in comparative investigations or individual case studies. It is far less usual for the country to be employed as a subject of migration studies. The reasons for this are that Polish migration research is still a relatively new sphere; the sources and extent of data about migration movements and migration policies are not yet very comprehensive; and the subject of immigration and asylum in Poland – as in other Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries – has only been discussed in public for a few years. On the other hand, up to now migratory movements have only been of subsidiary significance in transformation research, which is predominantly directed at institutions and active individuals in political systems, and at civil society. As a rule, immigrants are not counted here, and the field of immigration policy is not taken into account. In European studies the consequences of the integration process on potential for action and decision-making on the part of active individuals – in migration policy as well – and on organs of the political systems of EU members is investigated as intensively as the consequences of accepting the Acqui Communautaire for the countries that have done so. It remains a research desideratum to analyze the consequences of European integration on the policies and the political system of transformation countries. The study Migration and Migration Policy in the Course of the Transformation Process since 1989 – the Example of Poland is a work of research which, for the first time, combines various strands of migration, transformation and European studies. It deals with the question of whether it was possible for an independent migration system and an independent migration policy to be developed in Poland after the collapse of the state socialist system, and whether the application procedure and subsequent entry into the EU in the year 2004 significantly influenced the development of the migration system. The choice of Poland as the subject for this investigation is well founded, for Poland borders on countries such as Ukraine and Belarus from which migratory movements begin; these countries are also transit areas for migrants from Russia (including Chechnya), the Caucasus, the MENA region and South and South-East Asia. In addition, there is the problem of having to secure the external borders of the EU after Dublin II. The study reconstructs the development of the Polish migration system for the period from 1989 to 2007 by analyzing documents originating in national and international institutions – such as the Polish government, the EU commission, and the UNHCR – as well as a total of 34 expert interviews; in this way practical experience and expertise about the construction of the migration system can be examined. The experts who have been interviewed are people who work in ministries, trade unions, NGOs or universities and are directly involved in the process, or have been affected by it in their organizations. The results of this empirical analysis have then been triangulated. This formed the basis for the phase model of the development of the migration policy and its institutions, which are presented in Chapter 4. The focus of the study is on legal and structural political reconstruction, which is then contextualized: on the events of migration, the transformation process and the process of European integration. Finally, the significance of the state organs, the transformation process, the EU as an active agent, the domestic and foreign policy interests of Poland and the experiences with migration processes are weighed against each other. The present study thus constitutes the basis for further migration research.