Paper short abstract:

Basing on multi-sited fieldwork conducted in Poland and Vietnam, I analyze changing patterns of human mobility between Vietnam and other countries of former Soviet Bloc during the past 60 years, focusing on the case of Poland.

Paper long abstract:

Basing on multi-sited fieldwork conducted in Poland and Vietnam, I analyze changing patterns of human mobility between Vietnam and other countries of former Soviet Bloc during the past 60 years, focusing on the case of Poland. During the Cold War Era, there was intense, state-regulated movement of people between Northern Vietnam and other socialist countries. This movement involved diverse kinds of mobility: educational migration of students, labor migration of workers and circulation of highly-trained professionals.

After the collapse of Soviet Union and reshaping of geopolitical framework, "wild capitalism" replaced the communist regime, offering new possibilities which attracted tens of thousands of Vietnamese migrants who arrived to Poland the early 1990s. Economic possibilities from transformation Era in Poland involved import of goods (mainly textiles) from Asia and wholesale trade on bazaars (markets), often conducted in the sphere of "shadow economy".

However, currently Poland as a member of European Union have gone far from the "wild capitalism" model. The new geopolitical emplacement of former Soviet Bloc members poses a serious challenge for migrant communities, forcing them to adapt new economic strategies. On the other hand, participation of such countries as Poland, Czech Republic or Hungary in the European Union and Schengen area created new possibilities of mobility for post-socialist migrant communities. In my presentation, I intend to examine the links between the geopolitical emplacement of Vietnam and Poland and changes of migration patterns between the two countries.