Mikolaj Stanek

Exploring Transnational Practices of Ukrainian Migrants in Spain

This work examines three areas of transnational behaviour of Ukrainian migrants to Spain: travelling to the country of origin, the frequency of non-direct contact with the communities of origin and remittances. Our objective is to examine how gender, legal status and type of family unit (multilocal/non-multilocal) affect transnational practices. Most of the statistical data presented in this article come from the Spanish National Immigrant Survey (ENI-2007). The study confirms that family ties play a crucial role in establishing and maintaining links between countries of origin and destination. It also reveals that entry and residence restrictions on Ukrainian migrants significantly reduce the transnational mobility of irregular migrants. Finally, no clear relation between gender and transnationalism was observed.

Migration policy reforms in the context of economic and political crises: the case of Belgium

ABSTRACT A body of literature has examined the role of ‘crises’ on policy-making. Yet, we observe that endogenous or exogenous events called ‘crisis-events’ are often randomly chosen as sweeping explanations for reforms in migration and integration policy. Thus, we attempt to find answers for the question of how the latest financial and economic crisis affected policy-making in the area of migration and integration. We apply a combination of interest-based and ideas-based theories to the case of Belgium in order to question the role of crises in policy reforms in the field of migration and integration. Multiple political and economic crises have affected the country since 2007. Examining these crises and immigration politics we argue that electoral competition both between and within the Francophone and Flemish party systems continues to be the main driver of migration and integration policy reform. Yet, we also discover a cumulative effect of economic and political crises: while the intention of restricting immigration has remained largely unchanged over the years, the policy instruments employed to reach this objective have changed with the political and economic crises.

South-North Labour Migration Within the Crisis-Affected European Union: New Patterns, New Contexts and New Challenges

Drawing on previous chapters and on available statistical data we identify the main features of the South-North migration. Firstly, we indicate that the intensity of the current South-North is relatively low if we take into account, on the one hand, the scale of the crisis-driven deterioration of the labour markets in southern countries and, on the other, the volume of the previous South-North migration in the post-war period. Secondly we show that new Southern European migrants are predominantly young and highly educated, particularly when compared with their counterparts, who migrated during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. We argue that, while the asymmetric impact of the economic crisis throughout the European Union and the unique features of the deeply fragmented labour markets of its Southern member countries may be considered primordial factors that triggered a renewed South-North intra-European mobility, its volume and composition are determined by the previous long term structural, demographic, social and economic transformations experienced by both Southern and Northern EU countries.

Occupational Mobility at Migration - Evidence from Spain

This article provides insight into the determinants of occupational mobility recorded for immigrants between their last job in the region of origin and their first job in Spain. Multinomial and bivariate logistic regression models are applied to identify the strongest predictors of upward and downward mobility when immigrants move from one countrys labour market to another. This studys empirical analysis was carried out using data from the Spanish National Immigrant Survey of 2007. Our results show that ethnic segmentation in the Spanish labour market negatively affects the occupational mobility of immigrants. Secondly, we observe that non EU15 immigrants are at higher risk of downward mobility. Thirdly, higher levels of education offer protection against downward mobility and increase the chance for upgrading. Finally, contrary to our predictions, social capital embedded in support received from friends and relatives who reside in the destination country increases the risk of occupational downgrading and reduces the possibility of upward mobility.

Secularization in Poland and Spain after the democratic transition: A cohort analysis

The objective of this article is to determine the extent to which the evolution of religiosity in Spain and Poland in their post-democratic transition periods has been affected by the process of generational replacement. For Spain data are drawn from several surveys carried out by the Spanish Centre for Sociological Studies (CIS) between 1980 and 1996. For Poland the data come from the Polish General Social Survey and ISSP covering 1992–2008. Results show two radically different patterns of religious change. The fall in religious practice in Spain observed throughout the first 16 years after the political transition was due mostly to the inter-cohort change that affects each new generation born after 1950. In the case of Poland, post-transition change is less marked and due mainly to decline in religious practice on the individual level. The study also observes that the cohorts of Poles born during and after the fall of communism are significantly less religious than older cohorts.

EU Migration and the Economic Crisis: Concepts and Issues

In this introductory chapter, we discuss the concept of “crisis migration” and its relevance to understanding the transformation of migratory flows within Europe as well as the transformation of migration and integration policies in the European Union. This introduction also presents the main issues discussed in this book and briefly introduces each of the chapters that compose this volume. In this chapter, we also underscore the different economic and political context in which this new Southern European migration is occurring in comparison with previous waves from the same area. In particular, we point out that successive enlargements of the EU and their associated migration waves have eroded the support of political elites for the principle of free movement within Northern EU Member States. This changing socio-political context has triggered different reactions among political elites towards these new flows in both sending and receiving countries.

Restrictions on Access to Social Protection by New Southern European Migrants in Belgium

Despite the fact that the global financial crisis has affected Belgium’s economic performance, the country has continued to be an attractive destination for migrants. Recently, however, there has been a dramatic change in migrant flows to Belgium, as a result of two phenomena. First and foremost, the country has experienced large inflows of post-accession migration from Central and Eastern European citizens. Second, 40 years after the end of the guest worker programmes, the economic crisis reactivated migration from Southern Europe. One important consequence of the economic crisis and the arrival of Central and Eastern European migrants has been the growing scepticism that has developed in Belgium towards the freedom of circulation. This has led the authorities to implement specific policies aimed at discouraging further migration of low-skilled EU migrants, who are deemed undesirable. In this chapter, we analyse a specific policy consisting of the removal of residence permits from EU jobseekers who claim social security benefits in Belgium. This policy has affected both Central and Eastern European as well as new Southern European EU migrants.Examining the mobilization of different organizations, we then show that—while they are numerically fewer—new Southern European immigrants are in a better position than other new immigrants in Belgium to challenge receiving country policies that target them.

Lessons from the South-North Migration of EU Citizens in Times of Crisis

In this chapter, we identify five lessons from South-North migration in times of crisis, which we believe should inform future migration debates in the European Union. We draw these lessons from this volume’s analysis on the transformations of migration flows and policies during the economic crisis. Beyond the role of this crisis, however, we argue that these transformations also need to be understood in relation to long-term processes that preceded the crisis, such as post-accession East-West migration and the increased segmentation of European labour markets.

Crisis and Beyond: Intra-EU Mobility of Polish and Spanish Migrants in a Comparative Perspective

The 2004 and 2006 EU enlargement rounds have opened a new chapter in the contemporary history of European migration. Both accessions have not been comparable to previous enlargement experiences. Altogether 12 countries have joined the EU and as a consequence its population has increased by around 26%. The EU enlargement has changed significantly the institutional and socio-economic context of intra-EU mobility. As a consequence of introduction of the free mobility regime, the scale and dynamics of the outflows from Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries have increased significantly. According to the EU Labour Force Survey (LFS) data, within the ten years following the 2004 EU enlargement, the total number of EU-12 nationals residing in the ‘old’ member states increased 5.4-fold, from 1.1 million in 2004 to 6.1 million in 2014. This number can be translated into a total net inflow of five million mobile persons from the new member states (i.e., 500,000 per year) (Fihel et al. 2015).

Religiosity and politics in Spain and Poland: A period effect analysis

The aim of this study is to compare how the Catholic Church’s involvement in politics under authoritarian rule in Spain and Poland impacted on religiosity in those countries after the transition to democracy. The Catholic Church was a key political actor during the Franco regime in Spain and communist rule in Poland. However, the nature of its political involvement in each case was quite different: while in Spain the Catholic Church legitimized the Franco regime, in Poland it was one of the main actors opposing communist rule. The authors use data from the Polish General Social Survey covering 1991–2008 and several surveys carried out by the Spanish Centre for Sociological Studies (CIS) between 1975 and 1995. Results confirm that the political involvement of the Catholic Church had different impacts on subsequent religious practice in each country. In Spain secularization was especially intense during the political transition in the late 1970s, while in Poland after the 1990s there was only a moderate shift toward secularization.