Polish Immigrant Organizations in Germany: The Transnational Opportunity Structure

Polish Immigrant Organizations in Germany examines the situation of Polish immigrant organizations in Germany. Based on in-depth, mixed-method research consisting of surveys, case studies, and interviews with immigrants, representatives of institutions involved in the implementation of integration strategy and those responsible for Polish diaspora policy, it develops the notion of the transnational opportunity structure, which analyses the major factors shaping the situation of immigrant organizations.

With attention to the characteristics of the migration process and the immigrant community, the country of residence, the country of origin, and bilateral relations between the two countries--which are in turn moderated by both global factors and micro factors--this book offers a multi-faceted analysis of diverse processes of developing diaspora groups and their organizations. It will therefore appeal to scholars of sociology, political science, security studies, and public policy with interests in migration and Diaspora studies, as well as intra-European mobility.

Michal Nowosielski, sociologist, political scientist, and expert in public administration, professor at the WSB Merito University in Gdańsk, an affiliate in the Centre of Migration Research at the University of Warsaw, and member of the IMISCOE Standing Committee DIVCULT. Previously, he was a director of the Institute of Western Affairs in Poznań and a member of the Committee for Migration Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Michal Nowosielski has been a principal investigator and participant in numerous research projects, such as ＂Foreigners--Varsovians. Diagnosis and recommendations for integration activities＂ and ＂Polish immigrant organizations in Europe＂ funded by Polish and international institutions. His recent academic interests concentrate on migration issues, particularly immigrant organizations, culture and migration, diaspora policies, and migrants’ inclusion in an urban context. Michal’s research outcomes appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as Central and Eastern European Migration Review, Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, Ethnopolitics, Polish Review, and Globalisation, Societies and Education as well as in monographs and as chapters in several edited books.