The Eastern Frontier of Western Europe: Mobility in the Buffer Zone

Abstract: The post-communist countries of Poland, Hungary, the Czech and Slovak Republics have become a buffer zone between East and West. In this article we analyze the way in which this occurs in terms of migration in and out of the region. Our analysis focuses upon the emerging role which this region plays in relation to other parts of Western and Eastern Europe and the way in which economic and political developments there have encouraged particular forms of migration. We attempt to build apicture of some of the different kinds of migration taking place in relation to the social and ethnic characteristics of migrants. The article concludes that these movements are better understood as part of the mobility and circulation of people rather than one-way migration.