Political refugees or economic migrants: The case of Polish professionals, 1980-1986.

Abstract

This thesis searches for the presence of economic motives in professionals, who left Poland circa 1980-81. Through this case study of so-called "political refugees", the wider goal is to examine the dichotomy between political flight and economic migration. At issue is the depoliticization of poverty in the Third World, as well as the effect of the cold war on immigration policy in Canada. The results indicate that economic factors constituted important motives for departure in our target population. It is suggested that members of the latter were therefore not political refugees by UN-defined standards.