Michał Nowosielski, Witold Nowak.
2017.
Between East and West – geographical focus of the Polish diaspora policy and its transformations in 1989-2017
„Rocznik Instytutu Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej”, 15 (2017), z. 1, s. 139-158.
Abstract
The aim of the article is to examine the changes in the orientation of the Polish diaspora policy (Polonia policy) on the East-West axis, their conditions and perception presented by representatives of institutions involved in the creation and implementation of the Polish diaspora policy. Although the Polonia policy implemented after 1989 concerned both communities – Poles in the East and Poles in the West, one can observe temporary changes in orientation, consisting in applying more or less importance to one of the directions. The article presents the results of the analysis of official documents which were the basis for the transformation of the Polish diaspora policy in years 1989-2016. In addition, the results of empirical research conducted in 2015-2017 among representatives of institutions implementing the Polish diaspora policy are discussed. To interpret research results we used the typology categorizing types of perspectives explaining the emergence and development of diaspora policies, developed by Gamlen and colleagues. It captures three perspectives: tapping, embracing and governing perspective. The results of the research presented in the article suggest that in the case of Poland, on the one hand, there is a coexistence of the embracing and tapping perspective, and on the other, temporary emphasis on one or the other approach
can be observed.
Keywords
Polish diaspora policy, Poles in the East, Poles in the West, diaspora.