Rebordering Britain & Britons after Brexit
Between micronarratives of individual gain and macronarratives of public utility: discourses of return migration in times of crisis
Abstract
Many Central and Eastern European countries recognized the benefits of migration of their citizens after the EU enlargement in 2004, such as financial remittances and obtaining education abroad. Even more advantages are expected by the sending states upon anticipated return of migrants to the countries of origin. The article will examine Polish policies of return migration in times of two crises: Brexit and the pandemic. The analysis includes macronarratives (political discourse, such as state documents, legal acts and narratives of various state representatives and authorities concerning the return of Poles) and micronarratives (stories of individuals). Interviews with over 50 Polish migrants in the UK are juxtaposed with the state narratives. On the example of Poland, the article demonstrates how the process of possible return migration is constructed, narrated, and justified in micro- and macronarratives. The narratives and political tools engaged in inducing return migration reflect the state’s and the migrants’ anticipations and projections about the vision of community, national belonging, and citizen’s duties. The study of the micro- and macronaratives sheds light on nuanced ways in which co-agency works: that is, how social phenomena are shaped by actors who have diverse ways of looking at the problem, different (partly complementary, partly opposing) interests and motivations. © 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
You might also be interested in :
An `undeliberate determinacy'? The changing migration strategies of Polish migrants in the UK in times of Brexit
This paper reformulates classical questions regarding the plans and strategies of Polish migrants in the UK-such as decisions to leave or remain in the host country, or be `deliberately indeterminate' about future plans-from a sociologically situated `rights-based' perspective.
Bees & butterflies: Polish migrants' social anchoring, mobility and risks post-Brexit
The result of the Brexit referendum and subsequent uncertainty regarding its actual consequences, particularly for the EU citizens living in the UK, constitutes a major point of reference and a social risk for many Polish migrants.
Inclusion through irregularisation? Exploring the politics and realities of internal bordering in managing post-crisis labour migration in the EU
The technologies and practices of migration management are changing profoundly. They have been extended beyond territorial borders, immigration policies and assigned legal identities and downshifted to `inside' spaces across state and non-state `ordinary institutions'.
Migration uncertainty in the context of Brexit: resource conservation tactics
The Brexit referendum has led to uncertainty, which has threatened EU migrants' resources, including their rights to reside, to run a business or access welfare. Cross-national political and legal resources that include citizenship rights can enable migrants' access to health care, pensions…