Original scientific paper
Polish EU Officials in Brussels: Analysis of an Emerging Community
Julia Rozanska
; IMMRC Research Unit, Social Sciences, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Abstract
This article examines the process of emergence and consolidation of an expat community of over 2000 Polish EU Institutions officials in Brussels. This group appears quite alienated both from other Polish migrants in Belgium and from the local population. At the same time, they constitute a strongly integrated community. The objective of the present analysis is to explain the drivers and the dynamics of this process and to elucidate factors facilitating enclosure: anticipated rejection by local communities driven by national or professional stereotypes, identification with the EU Institutions, but also intensive networking activity. The study consists of two major parts. The theoretical part provides an insight to literature related to the social particularities of the EU officials in general. The empirical part examines processes observed specifically with regard to the Polish EU officials.
Keywords
Polish EU community; encapsulation in space; engrenage; adaptation; social networks
Hrčak ID:
74490
URI
Publication date:
30.8.2011.
Visits: 2.683 *