The concept of strategic narrative as a coherent story with a specific political purpose began to be discussed as a relatively new field of enquiry in international relations and security studies. It is one of the tools of persuasive communication with which political actors justify their actions, giving meaning to sequences of events linked by a common thread and influencing the desired behaviors of the actor's environment. These narratives are strategic not only because of their validity, but because they are the result of intentional actions by actors shaping a vision of international reality. What matters is the attractiveness they may have for their target audiences, their ability to persuade audiences, and the specific shape that narratives give to the representation of certain political events or processes by appealing to emotions, metaphors, or historical myths. Drawing on the analytical frame of non-state actor: the jihadist group Islamic State (ISIS) the paper focuses on the main aspects of ISIS strategic narrative: 1. ISIS used a coherent strategic narrative based on a dialectical vision of the international order to legitimize the project of a caliphate as the sole Islamic state. 2. Communication with potential supporters and enemies took place through extensive violent actions (assassinations, terrorism), but also through soft power, presenting a particular interpretation of events in order to influence political environment. 3. An important element of the strategic narrative was the appeal to the concept of the Muslim identity, community, and religious rhetoric.

The paper will focus on changes in migration policy in Peru introduced from 2016 to 2021 as a reaction to the forced displacement of Venezuelans. The Venezuelan crisis is one of the largest in the world and modern history, reaching today more than 6 million people who have already left Venezuela. Peru is one of the largest recipients of Venezuelan migrants and refugees in Latin America, and at the beginning of the crisis, the country took a leading role in working towards a regional solution to the Venezuelan displacement issue. The paper will analyze national policy in the context of the Cartagena Declaration, the creation of Grupo de Lima, and finally, a broader regional discussion and efforts focused on the protection of the forcibly displaced. Particular attention will be paid to the Permiso Temporal de Permanencia (PTP; Temporary Resident Permit) special mechanism dedicated to Venezuelans to regularize their status and grant basic rights and then to humanitarian visas introduced in mid-2019 that eventually limited entry to Venezuelan migrants and refugees.

Migration processes of the last decade have gained much attention in the political agenda in Europe, including Poland. That is why we need to study transfer and integration of cultural values and worldview, which are an essential element of migration process. In particular, it is of interest to study the process of migration and integration of Islamic worldview and cultural values, which is not quite seamless in Europe. Center for the Study of Political Islam International examines political influence of Islam on the host country society. Like in any other study, we have started with analysis of the whole situation and tried to determine any quantitative or qualitative indicators. One of quantitative indicators for a country can be the number of Islamic organizations in this country. Data on all organizations existing in a country are available in its state registers. Such registers are usually public and they contain information about place and date of registration of each organization. Based on these data we have prepared maps demonstrating the number of Islamic organizations in various countries, as well as their change over time. Currently we have maps for 11 countries: Australia, Austria, Hungary, Germany, Spain, Canada, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, USA, Czech Republic. Center for the Study of Political Islam International continues this project and works on maps for other countries. On this congress we’d like to present maps demonstrating changes in the number of Islamic organizations in Poland from 1950 to 2020 and in Germany from 1953 to 2020.

The paper contains the analysis related to the process of immigration from Eastern European countries (Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, BRU) to the Baltic states over the past decade because of ideological and political reasons. The purpose is to assess the linkage between the national identity and the phenomenon of political immigrations as well as to understand how the national identity is conceptualised as a negotiation between external and internal factors. The point of departure is that the Baltic states are among the most active states supporting democratic processes in the region resulted both from the ambitions and a desire to strengthen the Baltics’ prestige and international role, as well as the need to ensure the security and stability of the region. Furthermore, the geographical proximity, historical experiences, cultural similarities, and social ties determine their commitment and constitute the principles of their foreign policies towards the East European authorities. The Author examines the measures of the national consciousness and pride – how Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia perceive themselves as liberal democracies, and how the states promote a shared national identity beyond the borders. Additionally, the paper is aimed to explore how political elites and local communities position themselves towards the immigrants, how they define their relationship to the newcomers, and if the immigrants’ ethnic origin matters. Results lead to the threefold conclusion that the process of political immigration from Eastern European countries to the Baltic states makes an opportunity to consolidate the states’ political identity and to actualise and achieve their regional and global interests.

The paper will look at current UK migration policies, analysing their possible determinants. The starting point will be the change in migration policies introduced after Brexit. The analysis will look at pre-Brexit and post-Brexit public opinion polls, as well as data and reports on British economy and labour market. The role of the state in managing migration will be analysed in the broader context of Brexit, globalization, Covid crisis, and the necessities of international refugee protection, including the war in Ukraine. The paper will also examine the government narrative that prioritizes skilled migrants and key workers. One of the research questions will investigate the dynamics between governmental policies and public preferences and the issue of their convergence.