Poland in international migrations: the perspective of world systems theory

• Authors: Cezary Żołędowski

Abstracts

EN

This article presents the special status of Poland, namely as a country that both sends out and takes in large numbers of migrant workers. Drawing on the world systems theory, the role attributed to Poland is that of semiperiphery, which means a specific kind of suspension between the status of an immigration centre, resembling western Europe, and the status of a migration periphery, such as the one constituted by the eastern part of the continent. Poland continues to be viewed as peripheral by its own citizens who decide to emigrate and, at the same time, becomes an immigration sub-centre for migrants coming from less-developed countries. In this article, the distinctive features of the special position of Poland are discussed. The conclusions drawn are supported by empirical evidence, including data on migration flows and interviews both with Poles working abroad and foreigners employed in Poland.

Keywords

EN

International labour migrations; immigration to Poland; centre–periphery division; Polish labour market

• Publisher: Wydział Geografii i Studiów Regionalnych Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
• Journal: Miscellanea Geographica. Regional Studies on Development
• Year: 2020
• Volume: 24
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 94-103

Dates

published

2020

Contributors

author

Cezary Żołędowski

• Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, University of Warsaw, Poland

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Identifiers

Biblioteka Nauki

946982