Magdalena Lesińska.
2016.
THE POLITICIZATION OF EMIGRATION AND THE DIASPORA. AN ANALYSIS OF THE POLITICAL DISCOURSE IN POLAND DURING THE YEARS 1991–2015
Studia Migracyjne- Przegląd Polonijny, nr 3, s. 11-30.
Abstract
The article explores the process of politicization of emigration and the diaspora by tracking
the presence of topics related to emigration and the diaspora in the political discourse in
Poland. The method used in the study is qualitative content analysis; the subject of the
analysis are political programs of political parties, materials and documents developed for
the purposes of election campaigns, exposés of prime ministers, legal acts, and government
programs. The analysis covers the period from the elections 1991 till the 2011–2015
parliamentary term. A more detailed analysis concerns the years 2005–2011, the period
after the Polish accession to the EU which symbolizes the beginning of the recent wave
of mass emigration and increased interest of political actors in the problem of emigration
and Poles abroad. The main research questions relate to the presence of emigration and
the diaspora in the political discourse: in the programs of political parties, exposés of
prime ministers, the activities of successive parliaments and governments. The analysis
shows that topics related to emigration and the diaspora were present (albeit to varying
degrees) during each election, but the biggest interest took place during the 2007 election
campaign. What is more important, the issues of emigration and the diaspora were not
the subject of polarization (political disputes) as various political actors tended to agree
on the diagnosis of the situation and the content of the proposed solutions.
Keywords
emigration, Polish diaspora, politicization, political programs and political
parties
