Do Transnational Activities Hinder Integration? The Relevance of Transnational Activities within Integration Processes

Abstract

Building on a broad qualitative literature on migrant transnationalism, including a diverse set of conceptualizations, previous literature on the relation between transnational engagement and host country integration offers a conflicting picture. This study empirically examines the relation between different types of transnational activities in relation to economic, social, cultural and political integration. Using unique Swedish Survey data from 2010-2012 the analysis is done among a diverse migrant sample originating from different parts of the world and with different reasons for migration. The results show how the type of activity varies substantially depending on migration context and region of origin. Transnational activities are additionally found resource dependent and relate positively to economic integration but more negatively with social and cultural integration, thus calling for different explanations. The article concludes by describing transnational activities as reflecting the simultaneous connectedness to both sending and receiving society as well as individual migration experiences. Transnational activities are thereby argued to be central in any conceptualization of integration as a three-way process.