Transnational Migration

Increasing interconnections between nation-states across borders have rendered the transnational a key tool for understanding our world. It has made particularly strong contributions to immigration studies and holds great promise for deepening insights into international migration. This is the first book to provide an accessible yet rigorous overview of transnational migration, as experienced by family and kinship groups, networks of entrepreneurs, diasporas and immigrant associations. As well as defining the core concept, it explores the implications of transnational migration for immigrant integration and its relationship to assimilation. By examining its political, economic, social, and cultural dimensions, the authors capture the distinctive features of the new immigrant communities that have reshaped the ethno-cultural mix of receiving nations, including the US and Western Europe. Importantly, the book also examines the effects of transnationality on sending communities, viewing migrants as agents of political and economic development. This systematic and critical overview of transnational migration perfectly balances theoretical discussion with relevant examples and cases, making it an ideal book for upper-level students covering immigration and transnational relations on sociology, political science, and globalization courses.

Increasing interconnections between nation-states across borders have rendered the transnational a key tool for understanding our world. It has made particularly strong contributions to immigration studies and holds great promise for deepening insights into international migration.This is the first book to provide an accessible yet rigorous overview of transnational migration, as experienced by family and kinship groups, networks of entrepreneurs, diasporas and immigrant associations. As well as defining the core concept, it explores the implications of transnational migration for immigrant integration and its relationship to assimilation. By examining its political, economic, social, and cultural dimensions, the authors capture the distinctive features of the new immigrant communities that have reshaped the ethno-cultural mix of receiving nations, including the US and Western Europe. Importantly, the book also examines the effects of transnationality on sending communities, viewing migrants as agents of political and economic development.This systematic and critical overview of transnational migration perfectly balances theoretical discussion with relevant examples and cases, making it an ideal book for upper-level students covering immigration and transnational relations on sociology, political science, and globalization courses.

Preface and Acknowledgements viii1 Three Transnationals: Transnationalization, TransnationalSocial Spaces and Transnationality 1Cross-border migration and the need for a transnationalperspective 5Unpacking the transnational 7Aim and structure of the book 172 Transnationality and Social Practices 27Familial transnational practices 28Socio-cultural transnational practices 32Economic transnational practices 35Political transnational practices 39The significance of transnational practices 433 Conceptualizing Transnationalization and TransnationalSocial Spaces 46Transnationalization in historical perspective 47The concept of transnational social spaces 53The durability of transnationalization 614 Transnationalization and Development 66Three phases of the debate 68Remittances and their role for family and kin 70Transnational investment and business 74Hometown associations and their contributions to communitydevelopment 75Transnational circulation of knowledge 80Social remittances and their effects 845 Transnationality and the Models of Migrant Integration88Transnationalism as a model of integration 91The relationship between transnationality and integration 95Second-generation transnationality 102Migrant associations as a means of integration andtransnationalization 1066 States and Citizens - Transnational PoliticalPractices and Institutions 109Citizenship: a conceptual sketch 111The policies of citizenship: the case of dual citizenship114The politics of citizenship: citizens, diasporas and states121Transnational citizenship? 1337 Transnational Methodology 135Three methodological challenges for transnational analysis136Methods to address the three challenges 145Capturing simultaneity 1578 Transnationalizing Civil Society 159Civil society and transnational social spaces 161The relevance of development, social integration and citizenshipfor civil society 164Civil society and the state 168Civil society and the market 171Civil society and the family 172The role and function of migrant transnational social spaces forcivil society 175The signifi cance of a transnational approach for the socialsciences 179Notes 183References 185Index 203