Mateusz Krępa | University of Warsaw (original) (raw)

Papers by Mateusz Krępa

Studia Europejskie – Studies in European Affairs, 2024

This paper investigates the governance of emergencies in Lithuania and Poland from 2020 to 2023, ... more This paper investigates the governance of emergencies in Lithuania and Poland from 2020 to 2023, focusing on how multiple crises, namely, the COVID-19 pandemic, the humanitarian crisis on the border with Belarus, and the inﬂux of Ukrainians ﬂeeing a full-scale Russian invasion were handled. In response to these events, both countries introduced measures aimed at governing human mobility. In this study, drawing on security practices and discourse research, the authors analyse how the governments proceeded from one emergency to another. The analysis explores the interplay between emergency governance, populism, and technocracy, focusing on the concept of “routinisation” – i.e., how temporary emergency responses become permanent governance strategies. While both countries faced similar challenges, their responses diverged, with Poland’s populist government emphasizing militarised border controls and a narrative of protecting sovereignty, and Lithuania adopting a more technocratic approach, striving to maintain the proper functioning of the state. However, the overall difference between these two countries was more modest than it could be presumed; both states converged in their management of the migration emergencies, increasingly normalising restrictive measures. By comparing legislative and discursive strategies, this paper highlights how emergency governance evolved from improvisation to ﬁxed policies, raising questions about the implications for democratic governance and migration policies.

Badaczki i Badacze na Granicy, 2024

In the aftermath of 9/11, criminalisation of migration together with border militarisation streng... more In the aftermath of 9/11, criminalisation of migration together with border militarisation strengthened in many regions of the world. Securitisation and criminalisation of people on the move has clearly expanded from the Global North to the Global South and Global East. The corollary of these dynamics is also militarisation depicted by scholars as considerably impairing the right to asylum and security of people on the move e.g. in the Mediterranean (Kinacioglu, 2023) and on the U.S.-Mexico border (Dunn, 2021). These processes are also occurring on the Mexico-Guatemala and Poland-Belarus borders.

Comparative Migration Studies, 2024

The existing literature points to securitisation as a dominant form of emergency governance emerg... more The existing literature points to securitisation as a dominant form of emergency governance emerging in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, also in relation to migration. However, another important way of framing migration during the pandemic is in terms of economisation. This article aims to analyse the rationale underpinning Polish immigration policy during COVID-19 with a focus on different forms of economisation: macro-economisation, which prioritises economic growth over other socially important issues; and substantive economisation, which centres the needs of a population during a given historical moment. Based on desk and qualitative research, including analysis of official documents and media coverage as well as in-depth expert interviews, we argue that the logics of both kinds of economisation can be discerned in Poland's immigration policy. Our overall conclusion is that during the COVID-19 pandemic, and despite strong anti-immigrant rhetoric in official political discourse, Poland's immigration policy prioritised the interests of the national economy and labour market over strategies of security and social control.

Studia Migracyjne - Przegląd Polonijny, 2023

The pushed-back migrants are the main subjects of the humanitarian crisis on the Belarusian-Polis... more The pushed-back migrants are the main subjects of the humanitarian crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border; however their presence as public discourse producers are rather scarce. The aim of this research is to trace the narrative agency of these people and explore its link to their emancipation. Drawing on the postcolonial theory, we address the question of how the subaltern(ised) subjects produce their discourse. With the analysis of media content, literature, and artistic materials, we argue that the discourse production of pushed-back migrants in Poland is heavily limited, restricted, and often interrupted, however they manifest agency by manoeuvring victimisation and contesting the enemisation of themselves. Using these results, we conclude that the researcher's role during this crisis should be a mix of translation and representation of what the pushed-back said and were forbidden to say.

Studia Migracyjne – Przegląd Polonijny, 2023

Editorial introduction to the special section on the discourses about the humanitarian crisis on ... more Editorial introduction to the special section on the discourses about the humanitarian crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border

Nature Human Behaviour, May 19, 2022

Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa

This article compares two theoretical tools popular among migration researchers: the concept of “... more This article compares two theoretical tools popular among migration researchers: the concept of “bare life” offered by Giorgio Agamben, and the conceptualization of border practices and security in critical border and security studies. The paper presents how Agambenian theory seems to lack proper analysis of power, which can be provided by critical theory. Also, Agamben’s insufficient substantiation of resistance to exclusion should be supported by the normative critique offered by critical theorists of security. This enables proper examination of the humanitarian crisis provoked by both the Belarusian and Polish states’ bordering practices in 2021 and 2022. In result, an analysis of Polish and Belarusian bordering practices through this theoretical lens suggests how the critical approach to borders and security may be useful in depicting precisely the interplay of power within a sovereign state and in researching possibilities of resistance against practices of exclusion.

Raport z realizacji projektu “Wyjść z cienia. Wsparcie pokrzywdzonych z nienawiści”., 2022

Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria Nowa, 2022

Nature Human Behaviour, 2022

Społeczne Archiwum Kryzysu Humanitarnego, Badaczki i Badacze na Granicy, 2022

Granica czyjego bezpieczeństwa? Spojrzenie na granicę z perspektywy relacji społecznej. Czy zawsz... more Granica czyjego bezpieczeństwa? Spojrzenie na granicę z perspektywy relacji społecznej. Czy zawsze, gdy ktoś wypowiada słowo "bezpieczeństwo", ma na myśli to samo? Czym jest "bezpieczeństwo państwa" i co oznacza "bezpieczna granica"? W naukach o bezpieczeństwie ścierają się podejścia do podstawowych kwestii związanych z tym terminem, a w obecnej dyskusji o kryzysie humanitarnym kwestia rozumienia bezpieczeństwa nabiera kluczowego znaczenia.
Tekst powstał w ramach projektu "Społeczne Archiwum Kryzysu Humanitarnego" finansowanego przez Fundację Batorego.

CMR Spotlight 3(37), March 2022 Special Issue , 2022

In this special issue of CMR Spotlight, a team of CMR researchers describes the most important fa... more In this special issue of CMR Spotlight, a team of CMR researchers describes the most important facts about forced migrations caused by the Russian aggression on Ukraine, its effects, the reaction of the EU, the Polish state and Polish society. Also some recommendations for further actions to mitigate the effects of the crisis are proposed.

CMR Spotlight, 2022

In this issue, two CMR members who have been conducting research at the Polish-Belarusian border ... more In this issue, two CMR members who have been conducting research at the Polish-Belarusian border reflect on how research in crisis situations should be done. Mateusz Krępa and dr Kamila Fiałkowska are part of the Researchers at the Border collective, constituted to facilitate the collaboration of researchers covering the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Central and Eastern European Migration Review, 2021

The security of asylum-seekers in the context of conditions of reception has not been frequently ... more The security of asylum-seekers in the context of conditions of reception has not been frequently researched. This article aims to fill this gap by arguing that asylum-seekers in Poland are stuck in a grey zone between being secure and being securitised by the host society, with little opportunity to use their own agency. The basis for my study is the theory of the Welsh School of Critical Security Studies which focuses on understanding security through emancipation. The methodology contains a structural analysis of the reception system through the lenses of the agency-structure relationship and a legal and institutional study, as well as an indepth examination of security practices combined with a reconstruction critique. The results show that the Polish reception system is a structure which is highly asymmetrical in relations of power, especially in the fundamental case of setting a security agenda. This thus constitutes a substantial constraint on migrants' agency-with some potential for emancipation, however. In conclusion, the research points out the discrepancy between elements of the reception system driven by principles of liberal democracy and the nation-state and calls for a more inclusive, empowering and participatory security provision within the reception system in Poland.

P. Grochmalski, P. Lewandowski, P. Paszak (eds.), Polska racja stanu w perspektywie globalnych przemian, Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Akademii Sztuki Wojennej, 2020

The aim of the chapter is to diagnose security tools of the Polish state in migration context. Af... more The aim of the chapter is to diagnose security tools of the Polish state in migration context. After structural analysis of the migration inflow to Poland the most important threats resulting from the characteristics of this inflow have been presented. Next, the most important categories of institutions acting in the migration context have been specified with pointing out their competences. In conclusion the study indicates the main limitations of effectiveness of the security tools for each of the indicated categories of institutions acting in the migration context in Poland.
To cite: M. Krępa (2020), Możliwości kształtowania narzędzi bezpieczeństwa RP w kontekście migracji in: P. Grochmalski, P. Lewandowski, P. Paszak (eds.), Polska racja stanu w perspektywie globalnych przemian, Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Akademii Sztuki Wojennej, pp. 235-253

A. Kłos, J. Misiuna, M. Pachocka, A. Szczerba-Zawada (eds.), Connecting the European Union of shared aims, freedoms, values and responsibilities. European Union and its values: freedom, solidarity, democracy, Warsaw: Polish European Community Studies Association (PECSA)–Cedewu, 2020

The aim of the paper is an examination of the cooperation between EU agencies, governments and NG... more The aim of the paper is an examination of the cooperation between EU agencies, governments and NGOs in dealing with refugee crisis since 2015. Methodology of the research is based on legal, institutional and conceptual analysis within the human security approach. The migration crisis is presented as a factor of building new capacities of humanitarian response, but also as a cause of tensions between three levels actors. The paper also attempts to examine conceptually EU values. The results of the research expose a crucial role of fear and dignity in the process of European integration. However, the response to the crisis posed a question if the European values apply to migrants in the same way as they do in case of EU citizens. In conclusion, an exclusive community based on universal values seems to be faced with a moral problem resulting from application of these values in circumstances of exclusivity materialised in a border regime.
To cite: M. Krępa (2020), EU, states, and NGOs – multi-agency response to refugee crisis and its challenges for EU values in: A. Kłos, J. Misiuna, M. Pachocka, A. Szczerba-Zawada (eds.), Connecting the European Union of shared aims, freedoms, values and responsibilities. European Union and its values: freedom, solidarity, democracy, Warsaw: Polish European Community Studies Association (PECSA)–Cedewu, pp. 87-96

Books by Mateusz Krępa

Carrera S., Ineli Ciger M. (eds.), EU responses to the large-scale refugee displacement from Ukraine : an analysis on the temporary protection directive and its implications for the future EU asylum policy, 2023