Kay, Rebecca, juhendajaMach, Zdzisław, juhendajaBerrett, TobyTartu Ülikool. Sotsiaalteaduste valdkondTartu Ülikool. Johan Skytte poliitikauuringute instituut2023-11-022023-11-022023https://hdl.handle.net/10062/93935Early literature on post-accession migration from the ‘Accession Eight’ members of the European Union (EU) characterised it as ‘liquid’, emphasising the newfound flexibility of the EU’s free movement policy. However, later research has stressed the importance of ‘anchoring’ oneself in a host country to achieve security and stability. When the United Kingdom (UK) voted to leave the EU in 2016, Polish citizens in the UK were led to reflect on their identities, making the uncertain Brexit process a ‘critical event’ in their identity construction. After the UK’s departure from the EU was finalised, no studies appear to exist on the relationship between Brexit and UK-based Polish citizens’ ‘European’ identities, despite the fact that EU free movement is often believed to foster this identity. Based on semi-structured interviews with 16 Polish university graduates in London and Glasgow who emigrated from Poland after 2004, this thesis therefore investigates indicators of a European identity among participants and attempts to understand if and how Brexit has redefined these. In-depth inductive analysis reveals unexpected insights: those who moved to the UK with their families as children were more likely to identify with Europe than those who moved more recently as adults, despite the fact that the latter group exhibited more transnational behaviours. It appears that their ‘anchoredness’ in the UK and lack of connection to Poland, combined with the impact of Brexit on their sense of belonging and inclusion in the UK, led them to reflect on their identity and view Europe as an identity they could fall back on. This may have implications for civic engagement, civic unity, and other aspects of belonging.engopenAccessAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 InternationalmagistritöödeuroidentiteetThesis