Title: Polish return migration and transnational identities
Speaker: Anne White (University College London School of Slavonic and East European Studies)
Discussant: Bridget Anderson (COMPAS: The Centre on Migration, Policy and Society)
The seminar paper addressed the topic of return
migration and the extent to which it was return for settlement, as well as
discussing how migrants and migration might contribute to shaping new attitudes
in Poland.
It drew on my empirical research into
return and circular migration but also my own and other people’s research into
social remittances, based particularly on two recent conferences. The paper
examined some cases of the ‘return of innovation’ where return migrants had
successfully set up businesses in Poland based on their experiences and
observations abroad, but also the common phenomenon of return to Poland
followed by subsequent spells of working abroad, or settlement in a foreign
country. It discussed how migration might be shaping attitudes among people
living in Polish locations with high levels of migration, where awareness of
life in foreign countries penetrates everyday existence. The paper particularly
focused on gender roles and the often pragmatic acceptance of wives and mothers
leaving their families and migrating alone.
(written by Prof. Anne White)
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The main objective of this study was to examine the developments of political and economic relations between Poland
and Sub-Saharan Africa. The article was written from the Polish perspective. The author was fully aware that the perception of Sub-Saharan Africa as a
homogeneous region had to result in multiple oversimplifications, however the
analyzes of the Polish “African discourse” indicated, that political and
business elites were not aware about the heterogeneity of the continent. The
article demonstrated that after the eastward enlargement of the European Union
in 2004 Poland had realized its principal goal of foreign policy and did not
attempt to redefine its role and place in international relations in terms of
its potential and assets. From 2013 Polish – Sub-Saharan relations were intensified, but it is everything but clear whether it will become a permanent
trend. 
