Frontline of Refugee Reception Policy: Warsaw Reception Centers During the 2022 Ukrainian Crisis

Abstract

The article explores issues of the Polish refugee reception policy from the perspective of frontline workers: officials, citizen volunteers, and NGO workers at reception centers. It presents conclusions from the research of two Warsaw reception points established by the Voivode of Mazowsze in the beginning of the Ukraine war crisis in 2022. Looking at reception policy from the perspective of frontline workers and examining institutional frameworks (policy goals, regulations and norms) as entry conditions for various actors to collaborate, the article concludes that actions taken by the state authorities in the first weeks of crisis were an example of the responsibilization practices. Insights from the research can be helpful for the Multilevel Governance scholars to better understand the impact of top-down policy on the process of service delivery and problems of collaboration between actors at the local level of policy implementation.