Assessing 'Deservingness': Historical Conflict and Polish Reactions to Ukrainians Refugees

• In Event: Effects of Historical Legacies and Narratives on Contemporary Public Opinion in the Post-Communist Space

Abstract

Utilizing a novel survey experiment as well as focus groups, this paper assesses perceptions of refugee "deservingness" in light of historical conflict between Poles and Ukrainians. In the aftermath of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, Poland took in a tremendous number of Ukrainian refugees, with a great many ordinary Poles participating in housing and otherwise helping displaced individuals and families. Yet while Poland has a tendentious historical relationship with Russia/USSR, in the 20th century its relations with Ukrainians nationalists comprising the UPA and related organizations has been just as, if not more, fraught. In this paper we seek to examine how "sticky" negative historical perceptions are when it comes to determining whether present-day refugees are deserving of aid. We do this by testing a battery of perception indicators in regions affected by the 1943-1945 Wolyn massacres perpetrated by the UPA and those unaffected.

Author

• George Soroka, Harvard U