Discursive Approaches to the Reception of Non-EU Migrants in Polish Official Political Discourse
Discursive Approaches to the Reception of Non-EU Migrants in Polish Official Political Discourse

Summary/Abstract: Poland has faced several crisis situations related to migration in the past decade. With differences in thescale and origins of incoming people, these crises have triggered various reactions from Polish policy-makers,from the welcoming of non-EU migrants to the implementation of restrictive measures at the Polish border.The present research uses a discursive approach to study the ways in which non-EU migrants are presentedand discussed in Poland. By comparing official discourses from Polish authorities during the 2015–2016migration crisis, the 2021 border crisis with Belarus and following the Russian war on Ukraine in 2022,we analyse how different groups of non-EU migrants are discursively described and considered by politicalfigures. Furthermore, as these crises have important links with the European Union (EU), we alsoinvestigate how Poland’s relationship with the EU is envisioned by Polish authorities. Through thediscourse analysis carried out, we argue that ‘migrants’ and ‘refugees’ are discursively constructed asopposing groups in a manner that is highly visible. This discursive strategy is instrumentally used to reflecton the perceived deservingness, alterity or proximity of incoming people. We identify one unifyingperspective of Poland’s relationship with the EU throughout these crises: Polish authorities are keen tostress the importance of its membership of the EU when benefiting from the latter’s restriction of migrationto Europe.

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