4 Returnees: unwanted citizens or cherished countrymen
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Bozena Sojka
Abstract
This chapter looks at the ‘othering’ of migrants within discourses of return migration — a reflection of the complex interplay between race, ethnicity, and other aspects of identity, particularly in the fluid context of migration. It analyses Polish and Estonian social policy experts’ narratives on returnees and their access to welfare. The concept of othering in relation to welfare can help one to better understand national discourses around migration and return migration. Poland and Estonia have adopted vastly different attitudes towards return migrants: while Estonian policy experts stressed the positive nature of migration (migrants were seen as successful individuals), Polish narratives around migration are more negative, drawing attention to the ‘social costs’ of migration, such as broken families. The Polish experts thus questioned the potential belonging of return migrants, seeing them as a burden on the welfare state, while Estonian experts saw return migration as mostly positive and a sign of loyalty.
Abstract
This chapter looks at the ‘othering’ of migrants within discourses of return migration — a reflection of the complex interplay between race, ethnicity, and other aspects of identity, particularly in the fluid context of migration. It analyses Polish and Estonian social policy experts’ narratives on returnees and their access to welfare. The concept of othering in relation to welfare can help one to better understand national discourses around migration and return migration. Poland and Estonia have adopted vastly different attitudes towards return migrants: while Estonian policy experts stressed the positive nature of migration (migrants were seen as successful individuals), Polish narratives around migration are more negative, drawing attention to the ‘social costs’ of migration, such as broken families. The Polish experts thus questioned the potential belonging of return migrants, seeing them as a burden on the welfare state, while Estonian experts saw return migration as mostly positive and a sign of loyalty.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of figures and tables v
- Notes on contributors vii
-
Race, racism and social policy
- Race and social policy: challenges and obstacles 5
- ‘Race’: the missing dimension in social policy higher education? 25
- Young people as cultural critics of the monocultural landscapes that fail them 51
- Returnees: unwanted citizens or cherished countrymen 71
-
Social policy and young people
- The family welfare source and inequality in liberal welfare states: evidence from cohort studies 97
- Economic hardship in young adulthood: a cause for concern or a matter of course while settling into the Swedish labour market? 135
- Cultural education and the good citizen: a systematic analysis of a neoliberal communitarian policy trend 163
- How geographical and ideological proximity impact community youth justice (in)accessibility in England and Wales 183
-
Austerity
- After a decade of austerity, does the UK have an income safety net worth its name? 211
- A new page? The public library in austerity 227
- No way home: the challenges of exiting homelessness in austere times 249
- ‘Everywhere and nowhere’: interventions and services under austerity 271
- Index 291
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of figures and tables v
- Notes on contributors vii
-
Race, racism and social policy
- Race and social policy: challenges and obstacles 5
- ‘Race’: the missing dimension in social policy higher education? 25
- Young people as cultural critics of the monocultural landscapes that fail them 51
- Returnees: unwanted citizens or cherished countrymen 71
-
Social policy and young people
- The family welfare source and inequality in liberal welfare states: evidence from cohort studies 97
- Economic hardship in young adulthood: a cause for concern or a matter of course while settling into the Swedish labour market? 135
- Cultural education and the good citizen: a systematic analysis of a neoliberal communitarian policy trend 163
- How geographical and ideological proximity impact community youth justice (in)accessibility in England and Wales 183
-
Austerity
- After a decade of austerity, does the UK have an income safety net worth its name? 211
- A new page? The public library in austerity 227
- No way home: the challenges of exiting homelessness in austere times 249
- ‘Everywhere and nowhere’: interventions and services under austerity 271
- Index 291
