Geograficzne badania migracji w Polsce po 1989 r. = Geographical research on migration in Poland after 1989

Abstract

This article summarises a review of geographical studies on migration published in Poland after 1989, as also included in the Report of the Polish Academy of Sciences’ Migration Research Committee (Komitet Badań nad Migracjami) (Horolets et al., 2018). The work identifies around 750 bibliographical items from the years 1990‑2017, which it proves possible to assign to the categories of: the theory and methodology of geographical research into migration (including modelling and forecasting), internal migrations, external migrations (emigration and immigration), studies concerning foreign territories, research into migration historically (pre-WW2), and work concerning migration’s influence and impact on regional and local development. As is clear, no attention has been paid to issues of daily mobility (commutes to work or school), tourism (be that recreational, or related to business or pilgrimage), or to longer-term matters relating to ethnicity or multiculturalism. The review has also been supplemented to inclde work from the latest (2016‑2020) period. The studies that have been run prove to be of an empirical nature first and foremost, associated with the statistical and cartographic identification and description of observed phenomena and processes. This identification is most often based on secondary data from Statistics Poland – which deals with the ongoing processing of new registrations in the country, as well as deregistration. It seems that these data have been accepted more or less uncritically by most geographers, at least until recently. As the strands of research represented least abundantly are modelling, as well contributions to theory, this needs to be seen as marked regression in comparison with the situation in the 1970s – marking the zenith of Polish geographical work on migrations (or indeed more broadly on the processes of population and settlement). Set against the background of other disciplines, this denotes further a very large number of studies identified as geographical but not equating automatically to progress of a conceptual or theoretical nature. In contrast, a plus-point where the comparison is with typically statistical or demographic research, or partly even that of a sociological and economic nature, is a very good level of” feeling for/sensitivity to the space” (and hence familiarity with local factors), that allows us to avoid over-averaging or generalization in the direction of aggregate territories known to be too heterogeneous (not least the voivodeships into which Poland has long been divided at provincial – latterly provincial/regional – level). Avoided in this way is resort to over-generalised cognitive impacts in essence straying beyond the boundaries of geography into other disciplines. The main and most-original achievements of post-1989 geographical research can be seen to include:•multi-regional modelling of the dynamics to population change that takes account of the complexity of migration processes; •a particularly exhaustive and comprehensive reconnaissance and treatment of the migration-related specifics of the Opole-Silesia region;•work on the role played by migration (and mobility more broadly) in the development of suburban zones and metropolitan areas;•in-depth research into the linkage between migration and local or regional socioeconomic development;•a contribution to the classification, typology, delimitation and indication of migration, as well as the deployment of indicators in procedures of this type, in a context that is broader where scientific disciplines are concerned;•the empirical indication of population over- or under-estimates in different configurations of space as a reflection of unregistered migrations;•contributions to urbanisation theory including as regards the relations pertaining between migrations and the settlement system.