Racialisation of Polish migrants in the UK and in Spain (Catalonia)

Bibliographic Data

ID3626845
AuthorsAlina Rzepnikowska (0000-0002-9707-0587)
Year2023
Volume49
Issue6
Pages1517-1533
Publication date2023-04-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNew Community (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-9586 • E-ISSN: 1469-9451
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/1369183x.2022.2154912
OpenAlexW4319845410
LanguageEN
Citations received18
References cited39

The European Union expansion in 2004 resulted in a large-scale migration from less ethnically diverse Poland to multicultural societies. Many Polish migrants have become conscious of being white due to contact with people of colour, and at times, not-quite-white through encounters with the local white population. The presumed whiteness has not protected them from racialisation in the UK, especially in the context of Brexit. In contrast, in the Spanish context they have often been privileged by whiteness and Europeanness, although they have also been categorised as Eastern European Others. This paper illustrates how Polish migrants are racialised in relation to their ambiguous position linked to the construction of 'Eastern Europeans'. It does so by drawing on narrative interviews with Polish women in Manchester and Barcelona based on the fieldwork conducted in 2012-2013 and interviews in Manchester in 2017-2018. The central argument is that racialisation of Polish migrants is influenced by the history and present of East-West relations. The peripheral condition shared by Spain and Poland helps to explain the differences in racialisation of Polish migrants in Britain and Spain

Demographic economics · Economic geography · Economics · Geography · Immigration · Irregular migration · Political science · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Demography · Law · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access