Diaspora, the Internet and Social Capital

Abstract

Recent research on the macro, meso and micro levels of the migration process (Kritz et al., 1992) has concentrated on the political, economic and sociological factors that make individuals decide to emigrate to another country. Human mobility across national borders is facilitated by transnational (Basch et al, 1994; Portes, 1999; Faist, 2000), ‘multi-connected, multi-referential’ (Soysal, 2000: 13) relationships and ethno-religious networks (Vertovec, 2005) as well as transport and communication technologies (Castles and Miller, 2003). As discussed in this book’s introduction, ‘social capital’ (Granovetter, 1973; Coleman, 1988; Bourdieu, 1996; Portes, 1998; Putnam, 2007) has become a relevant theoretical concept for understanding the way in which migrants get access to resources and participate in social, economic and political life across national borders. Most existing studies on the cultural, economic and political geography of migration and migrant social networks have considered co-ethnic networks as a central hub for multiple resources which can create socio-economic benefits for individual migrants. In the context of migration studies, social networks were seen as a tool that could enhance social mobility and help to overcome disadvantage for marginalised, subordinated individuals and communities such as diasporic groups.