Welcoming immigrants in Central and Eastern Europe: lessons from Russia's invasion of Ukraine (WICE)

Project title in Latvian: Imigrantu uzņemšana Centrālajā un Austrumeiropā: mācības no Krievijas iebrukuma Ukrainā (WICE)

Project title in English: Welcoming immigrants in Central and Eastern Europe: lessons from Russia's invasion of Ukraine (WICE)

Project leader: Tenured Prof. Inta Mieriņa

Implementation period: 01.06.2025. – 31.05.2030.

Funding: 1 996 386,25 EUR

Funder: HORIZON ERC grant

The aim of the project is to examine how attitudes toward immigrants in Central and Eastern Europe are formed and transformed in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, taking into account historical, geopolitical, and ideological factors. At the same time, the study seeks to challenge existing explanations of migration perceptions by emphasizing not only xenophobia or resource competition, but also the role of historical memory, collective trauma, a common adversary, and security concerns. Building on an innovative and interdisciplinary methodological approach, the project will analyze the nuance and context-specificity of attitudes, as well as how these attitudes differ depending on the experiences of both immigrants and host societies.

*Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.