Networking in contexts: qualitative social network analysis' insights into migration processes

Abstract

Abstract How do migrants network in different contexts? I address this question by using qualitative social network analysis and explore the relationship between shared contexts and individuals' possibilities for interaction as well as (un)intentional network (re)creation. I observe how migrants form ties and draw boundaries in two contexts: (1) institutional and (2) migrant community. I draw on qualitative data from a study of Ukrainian migrants' social networks in Warsaw, Poland. I find that the structural opportunities that facilitate relationships with Poles differ between those Ukrainian migrants who arrived around or after the year 2014 and those who migrated earlier. The relations between Ukrainians are characterized by class divisions, which they interpret via ‘language/ethnic’ differences, reinforced by the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine. However, these symbolic boundaries do not translate into rigid network boundaries.