Consistency or space for experimentation? Analysis of Poland's policy response to the migration crisis caused by the escalation of Russian aggression against Ukraine
political scientist, researches the principles of effective public policy design
Researchers from SWPS University will examine how Poland, at the national and local level, dealt with a sudden influx of Ukrainian refugees who fled to their neighboring country after the Russian invasion in February 2022.
Funding provided by the National Sciences Center, project no.: 2022/45/B/HS5/00933.
Project objectives
Imagine you need to solve a big problem affecting many people. Should you create a detailed plan and stick to it, or come up with a more general plan that allows for experimentation and learning from mistakes? This question is important for public policies, and there isn't a clear answer.
We want to study this dilemma by looking at how Poland dealt with the migration crisis caused by Russia's aggression on Ukraine in February 2022. Poland became the main country welcoming Ukrainian refugees, and quickly passed a law outlining a policy response. The law gave refugees the right to stay in Poland for up to 18 months, and addressed their basic needs in three areas: financial aid, access to public services such as education and healthcare, and work permits. However, the law also allowed local authorities to come up with their own specific solutions in these areas.
By examining Poland's adaptive approach to the influx of war refugees from Ukraine at the local level, we uncover invaluable lessons for addressing urgent social challenges through innovative and resilient community-based strategies.
Methodology
We will study different solutions created by local authorities in 12 major Polish cities. We want to understand how these solutions varied and how these differences affected the overall success of the national policy.
Research team
Associated Researchers
Practical application of results
We hope to achieve two main objectives.
- The project will help us learn more about the importance of consistency when designing public policies for urgent social issues, which could be useful for policymakers around the world.
- The study will provide new information on how Poland responded to the migration crisis caused by Russia's invasion on Ukraine. This unique situation has not been studied in detail so far, therefore our project will offer valuable insights for both theory and practice.