Transnational Mobility Research Articles

Singing from the same hymnbook: South Asian Canadian solidarity in the long sixties in British Columbia

ABSTRACT This essay breaks new ground in writing the history of the long sixties by bringing in a strand of the Third World diasporic activism shaped by transnational mobility. It alludes to the role of the Naxalite movement in politicizing the youth of the Panjab, many of whom moved to Canada in the late 1960s and 1970s encouraged by changes in Canada’s immigration policies. This new wave of immigrants was confronted with racism and labour exploitation upon arrival. In response, they quickly formed new Left-wing organizations to defend their rights. The literary association of progressive Panjabi writers in British Columbia and other places was one such institution. It directly involved itself in political and cultural activism, besides literary activities by crossing racial and communal boundaries to create intercommunity solidarities. These Panjabi writers were also chroniclers of the global consciousness of their times as well as the local histories of resistance by their diasporic community. Through text and performance, their intercommunity cultural solidarity activism organically connected them to an older North American radical tradition of the anarcho-syndicalist Wobblies. The archive of the literary production of progressive Panjabi writers has been used in the essay alongside the video interviews recorded by the author with members of Panjabi theatre groups, musicians of a former rock band, a visual artist and photographer, and the founder of a local folk music festival. It brings to the fore new voices, perspectives, and experiences that shaped the intercommunity cultural solidarity activism of the long sixties in British Columbia.

Survivors-at-home and the right to know: solidarities in Eritrea in the aftermath of the Lampedusa tragedy

ABSTRACT This study delves into the transnational mobility of migrants from the Horn of Africa, exploring the limited situated ethnographies on survivors-at-home, a topic still underexplored. Focusing on the tragic sinking of a boat carrying Eritreans from Libya to Italy on 3 October 2013 in Lampedusa, the article contextualises the event within a relevant chronology. It examines the post-tragedy solidarities emerging at local, national, and international levels, shedding light on the survivors-at-home’s right to know. Through fieldwork conducted in Eritrea and Italy between November 2012 and September 2016, employing participant observation and microhistory, the study shows nuanced narratives about survivors-at-home, emphasising the challenges they face in exercising their right to know. The transnational and transcalar lens captures the agency, priorities, and practices of various actors and networks involved, providing a comprehensive understanding of the solidarities emerged in the aftermath of the Lampedusa tragedy.

Translocating Trajectories, Transnational Mobilities: The Cross-border Migration and Livelihoods of Hmong in the Tri-state Area Between China, Vietnam, and Laos

This study investigates the transborder activities of the Hmong people within the tri-state area of China, Vietnam, and Laos, which emphasises their adaptive strategies in the face of evolving geopolitical and economic contexts. Through comprehensive multisite ethnographic fieldwork and snowball sampling, this study captures a wide array of perspectives from individuals directly engaged in industries crucial to the borderlands’ economy, such as tourism, hospitality, and trade. It highlights the Hmong’s utilisation of cultural and linguistic capital to navigate opportunities within and across their transnational networks. Key to their adaptive strategies is the role of South-South cooperation, which fosters regional integration and offers new economic opportunities while also allowing ethnic locals to retain significant aspects of their livelihoods. This study provides insights into how the Hmong community utilises both traditional clan systems and modern entrepreneurial practices to enhance their economic standing and cultural engagement across borders, which contributes to a broader understanding of minority groups’ roles in global and regional development.

Repensando a migração brasileira: a agência de mulheres brasileiras altamente qualificadas

Abstract Developing the concept of the “continuum of instability”, we recognise that different phenomena such as agency and resilience are useful to reframe the different dynamics and mechanisms of resettlement and job-education matching in a group of Brazilian women resettled in the Spanish context. This paper contributes to the scientific knowledge of the relationship between strategies of transnational mobility and the reframing of professional identity in the host society. Through the procedure of a qualitative methodology, the data were collected in different Autonomous Communities of Spain during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, between 2021 and 2022. This paper explores the strategies used by highly educated Brazilian women to achieve job-education matches in Spain. To this end, we have analysed the structures of opportunities and constraints that have influenced their career paths in the Spanish socio-occupational context. On the other hand, by considering the micro-analytical level, subjectivity suffers relevant changes based on the negotiation with external factors at macro (structural) and meso (relational) levels, depending on the forms of adaptation and transformation of each woman. In this context, agency and resilience are the nudging factors and become active strategies through the process of deconstruction and reconstruction of the new identity in the post-migration phase.

Cultural Capital and the Transnational Mobility of Asian Middle-Class Students to Germany

This paper reports the motivations of middle-class Asian students who choose German universities of applied sciences under the third wave of international student mobility. It aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the students’ qualitative experiences in Asian countries that influenced their preference for German universities of applied sciences and their expectations of their German degree as cultural capital. The research analyzes the family, school, peer experiences of 23 Asian students currently enrolled in a German university of applied sciences to understand their motivations for choosing this type of institution and Germany. The findings reveal that the cultural capital that influenced their choice includes differentiation strategies of middle-class students, reasonable education investment choices of Asian students, and the use of a German degree as a trump card in the labor market. The study provides implications for the development of international higher education by connecting Asian students’ aspirations for global cultural capital to a complex and atypical structure that encompasses global, national, and individual dimensions simultaneously.

Современное состояние высшего образования в Сирии и проблемы миграции

The article presents an analysis of the current situation in the field of higher education in Syria. In the context of the prolonged military conflict and political instability that has engulfed the country, the Syrian higher education system has faced serious challenges. The author highlights the most important problems of Syrian higher edu-cation, including its accessibility, the quality of educational programs, financing and infrastructure of educa-tional institutions. The impact of the conflict on academic research, migration mobility of students and teachers, and prospects for the restoration of the higher education system in Syria are also assessed. Along with this, the article contains recommendations and suggestions for improving the state of higher education in the country. Sociological theories and approaches were also applied in this work, which used research analysis methods, and were based on qualitative and quantitative research approaches such as interviews, questionnaires, statis-tical analysis and the theory of transnationality: this approach emphasizes the links between countries and transnational aspects of migration. The author analyzes how education affects transnational mobility and the reverse impact of migration on educational processes. The author used a Structural and functional approach to analyze the functionality of the Syrian higher education system and identify problems in its key structural ele-ments. The study is important for understanding the problems faced by higher education institutions in conflict countries, and can serve as a starting point for further research and development of educational, youth and migration policy in Syria.

Smoothness as a quality of care: An STS approach to transnational healthcare mediation

Medical travel and transnational healthcare involve various difficulties such as the distance and disconnect between patients and healthcare providers, language barriers or logistical challenges of moving ill bodies across space. Medical travel facilitation steps in with some sort of brokerage service that contributes to overcoming or managing these difficulties and, as this paper suggests, acts to create a quality of ‘smoothness’. By unpacking three salient facilitation practices, namely connecting, communicating, and coordinating, this paper conceptualises the empirically derived category of ‘smoothness’. This as a disposition, outcome, and spatio-temporal manoeuvre of medical travel facilitation. Based on the way in which such practices of mediation act to create smoothness, namely in an attentive, persistent, and collective tinkering manner, this paper suggests that some practices of medical travel facilitation are productively thought not just about setting up the possibility of care transnationally, but that they are key forms of care in itself. Based on these findings, smoothness is considered to be a central but also contested quality of medical travel facilitation and brokerage in a broader sense, but as proposed here, also for care. This conclusion potentially has implications not just for the study of transnational healthcare and mediation activities, but also that of care and transnational mobilities more generally.

Diaspora activism in a non-traditional country of destination: the Gülen Movement in Czechia

ABSTRACT Diaspora groups have increasingly become active and influential transnational actors, whose mobilization strategies react to strategic opportunities and constraints. The article explores how the GM diaspora embeddedness in specific contexts affected the trajectory of its transnational mobilization. It argues that the Turkish EU candidacy status, the rise of the AKP-GM alliance and the Czech accession to the EU created new opportunity structures for the GM in Czechia but they could not maintain the momentum the critical juncture opened in the Czech public debate due to the closing opportunity structures in Czechia. Their political activism has also been undermined by the strategically selective state-led transnationalism and heavy transnational repression, which intensified the interdependency between transnationalization and localization of the GM activities. The article contributes to the study of state-led transnationalism in deeply polarized societies and its impact on diaspora activism before and after a critical juncture.

Determinants of return migration of Estonian young adults in transnational mobility

Abstract Since Estonia joined the European Union in 2004, there has been a steady growth in transnational mobility for work or study among Estonian young adults, a phenomenon further boosted by the economic recession of 2008–09. This article analyses the factors that have influenced or would potentially influence their return to Estonia, following an online survey of over 2,000 participants from Estonia aged 20–35 years with a recent experience of living abroad. By deploying an analysis of logistic regression, we developed two models concerning the ‘actual return factors’ (comparing the stayers with those who have returned) and the ‘aspirational return factors’ (how the migrants imagine their future location). Some of the highlights of our results demonstrate that the likelihood of return migration is significantly lower for those whose prime reasons for leaving Estonia were related to living conditions and salary abroad. The extent of people’s ties and connections to Estonia does not play a significant role in actually returning to Estonia. However, these connections do play a role, albeit limited, in envisioning one’s future in Estonia. The outcomes of our analysis suggest that diaspora policies cannot be implemented without addressing the sending country’s internal sociopolitical situation, which influences the living conditions and economic opportunities of its citizens, scrutinized particularly carefully by those who have left the country before deciding whether or not to return.

Comparing pre-service teacher attitudes toward the use of students’ home language(s) in linguistically diverse English as an additional language classrooms in Norway and Cyprus

BackgroundGlobalization, increased transnational mobility, and growing refugee populations have shifted the focus from traditionally monolingual to incrementally multilingual and multicultural classrooms and have put a significant mark on language teaching. Attention to multilingualism and multiculturalism in educational settings is important to raising awareness and recognition of linguistic and cultural diversity at the individual and societal levels.MethodsThis comparative study investigated the beliefs of 59 pre-service teachers in Norway and Cyprus regarding the use of students’ home language(s) (HLs) in increasingly linguistically diverse English as an Additional Language (EAL) settings. The teachers were observed during their teaching practicum and were interviewed with respect to their views, beliefs, and self-reflections on the impact and role of HL for EAL teaching and learning purposes.ResultsThe analysis of the data revealed that more than half of the participants in both countries were in favor of employing multilingual pedagogies. However, most of them acknowledged certain challenges in their practical implementation and the need for further training.ConclusionThe study concludes with the authors stressing the catalyst role teacher educators could play in making EAL classrooms more inclusive for multilingual learners.

초국가적 이동 배경 하에 조선족의 문화와 정체성에 관한 연구

초국가적 이동 배경 하에 조선족의 문화와 정체성에 관한 연구

Transnational Mobilities in Search of Refuge

Abstract Geographical considerations continue to manifest in and influence the narratives surrounding non-heteronormative sexualities. Within this context, borders become central to the politics of inclusion-exclusion. In this study, we engage Jude Dibia’s Walking with Shadows, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “The Shivering,” and Uzondinma Iweala’s Speak No Evil in view of their engagement of the tripodal issues of homosexuality, home and migration. We interrogate the depictions and counterbalances evoked by the juxtaposition of the artistic motifs of ‘home’ versus migration; and argue that this dichotomy is wielded firstly as a form of escape from a judgmental ‘home’ and then as a means of providing a contrastive engagement of the perception of homosexuality within different territorial borders. Such transnational enactments of mobilities, we believe, also constitute platforms though which these authors channel energies and support on the way to soliciting acknowledgement and acceptance for people of alternative sexualities.

‘This is how the game works’: navigating access and choice in transnational higher education fields

ABSTRACT Drawing on Bourdieu’s field theory the study describes access to transnational mobility as a contextual process to which transnational and location-specific capitals make joint contributions. In doing so, the paper responds to calls against methodological nationalism, i.e. confining research to national boundaries, which is becoming increasingly inadequate in a global world where capital may be produced and subsequently utilised in different countries (Weiss [2021]. “Re-thinking society: How can sociological theories help us understand global and crossborder social contexts?” Current Sociology 69 (3): 333–351.). Using in-depth interviews with international students the paper illustrates the complexities of ‘choice’ and the intricacies of ‘playing the game’ in transnational spaces while exposing how nations structure and (re)produce social inequality in access to educational opportunities.

The double-helix entanglements of transnational advocacy: Moral conservative resistance to LGBTI rights

AbstractThe rights of people who are marginalised by their sexual orientation and gender identity (LGBTI) have improved in many countries. Largely, these achievements can be traced back to the ‘spiral model’ of factors including transnational mobilisation by the LGBTI rights movement, the actions of a few pioneering governments, and advances in the human rights frameworks of some international organisations (IOs). Yet a rising and increasingly globally connected resistance works against LGBTI rights. It rests predominantly in the hands of a transnational advocacy network (TAN) that attempts to lay claim to international human rights law by reinterpreting it. Drawing on a decade of fieldwork and 240 interviews with LGBTI, anti-LGBTI, and state and IO actors, this article explores how the conservative TAN functions, in terms of who comprises it and how its agenda is constructed. We argue that this TAN has employed many of the same transnational tools that garnered LGBTIQ people their widespread recognition. It also conforms to the spiral model of rights diffusion, but in a process we call a double helix. As the double-helix metaphor suggests, rival TANs have a reciprocal relationship, having to navigate each other’s presence in an interactive space and thus using related strategies and instruments for mutually exclusive ends.

Transnational Mobility of Chinese Students in Portuguese-Speaking Countries: The Role of a Non-hegemonic Language

Abstract The idea that the acquisition of and proficiency in non-hegemonic languages can be pivotal to international student mobility has thus far been insufficiently addressed. In this paper, we draw on 23 in-depth interviews with Chinese students to explore this question, showing how the perception of Portuguese-language learning and practice at Lusophone Higher Education Institutions (e.g., in Portugal, Macao, Angola, and Brazil) represents a decisive trigger for studying abroad, and an alternative strategy for acquiring linguistic capital in a non-dominant language in which skills can be converted into competitive resources on future professional paths. We conclude by arguing for the need to address this blind spot in transnational student mobilities, and by positioning “language acquisition and proficiency” as a structuring dimension, not just of the processes by which students decide to move, but also of their imaginaries of preparedness for their future career trajectories.

How mobile is the transnational business elite? Evidence from Swiss banking executives

AbstractOver the last two decades, a growing literature has examined the emergence of a transnational business elite. However, the pathways of transnational mobility have not been fully characterized. In this article, we use a combination of sequence analysis and the concept of a career script to investigate the geographical mapping and organizational contexts in which transnational mobility occurs. To achieve this, we rely on a database of 186 executives from the 28 largest Swiss banks, as well as 20 interviews with chief human resource officers and 15 interviews with banking executives. Our findings contribute to relativize and differentiate the phenomenon of transnationalization of business elites by underlining the importance of the career context and by identifying distinct interpretations of international career resources according to different types of banks.

Constructing a transnational childcare bricolage: Chinese migrant families in Italy coordinating transnational mobility and childcare

ABSTRACT Research on the childcare arrangements of migrant families has primarily focused on transnational childcare practices or childcare-work reconciliation in the host society, without paying appropriate attention to the dynamic and complex negotiation processes that underlie mobility-childcare coordination. This study proposes the concept of transnational childcare bricolage to explore how Chinese migrant families in Italy mobilize and (re)assemble transnationally located and/or unconventional resources and constantly (re)adjust childcare arrangements to achieve a nuanced match between evolving childcare demand and capacity. The study draws on in-depth interviews with members from 50 Chinese migrant families in Italy, as well as participant observation and multi-sited ethnographic observation. Through analyses of their mobility-childcare negotiation processes, we illustrate how migrant families from different social class backgrounds navigate the complexities and contingencies embedded within a family-state-transnational triad. Additionally, our research questions the ethnicized division of care work between migrants and natives, highlighting common experiences of marginalization and work-care tensions faced by women of similar socio-economic positioning, regardless of their ethnicity and/or nationality.

Unequal opportunities in becoming cosmopolitan: Korean students’ gendered and classed acquirement of transnational mobility through studying abroad

ABSTRACT Using interviews with 74 Korean undergraduate students at ten elite U.S. colleges, I explore how intersections of gender and class decide who pursues transnational mobility and cosmopolitan life more successfully. Men from highly-transnational families tried to exert ‘agency for becoming’ while mapping out their ‘choice biographies’, aspiring and expected to be high-achieving and influential worldwide, often thanks to their U.S. citizenship or permanent residency. By contrast, women across class and legal statuses tended to accommodate ‘normal biographies’, prioritising their (future) responsibilities as mothers, wives, and daughters. Regarding class limitations, both women and men from less-transnational families tended to expect to return to Korea upon graduation, feeling culturally and legally limited to utilising their degrees across national borders. Yet, across class lines, men were more ambitious and career-oriented than women, implying gender-based constraints among the skilled diaspora. These findings shed light on multiple forms of inequalities among high-achieving Asian student migrants.

Rural mobility and socio-spatial impacts in Japan: A case study of Kutchan, Hokkaido

Counterurbanisation, a phenomenon signifying the urban exodus, primarily highlights certain aspects of rural mobility while often overlooking its diverse nature. With globalisation, a new wave of challenges has emerged in rural areas due to an increase in transnational mobility, complexities that have remained largely under-explored. This research paper addresses these gaps by examining the impact of rural mobility on Kutchan, Hokkaido, Japan, a rural town that has experienced significant social and spatial transformations due to an influx of domestic and transnational migrants, supplemented by increased investment. By analysing population data from 1959 to 2022, the study identifies the period when rural mobility emerged as the dominant demographic trend. Subsequently, it examines the impact of rural mobility on demographic changes, socio-economic shifts, and housing dynamics in both the ski and non-ski tourism areas of Kutchan during this period. The findings reveal that rural mobility has been the primary factor affecting Kutchan's demographic structure since 2000. From 2000 to 2010, highly educated foreign residents supplanted local Japanese residents with basic education, sparking a rise in housing prices and a transition from small entrepreneurs to large institutions in the ski tourism area. From 2015 to 2020, the influx of large institutions and capital associated with transnational migrants caused a significant rise in housing prices, thereby accelerating the displacement of Japanese residents throughout Kutchan. These social and spatial changes align with the patterns of gentrification. This empirical study contributes to existing scholarship by emphasising the significant temporal and spatial impact of rural mobility in Japan within the context of globalisation.

The Mobility–Immobility Dynamic and the ‘Fixing’ of Migrants’ Labour Power

Low-wage labour migration from lower- to higher-income economies has become a precondition for capital accumulation. As a part of this, neoliberal actors (businesses and states) strive to actively produce migrants with a strong work ethic. They do this in numerous ways. In this paper, we draw upon labour process theory to argue that a ‘mobility–immobility dynamic’ is a major way capital now controls precarious workers. The mobility–immobility dynamic relates to low-wage workers’ need to move (and often circulate) internationally but, once they have moved, a desire by businesses and states to keep them in place. The fixing of migrants both across space (through transnational mobility) and in place (through immobility) underlines the importance of a multi-scalar approach to understanding the control of the transnational working-class. We draw on evidence from European horticulture – 36 in-depth interviews with migrant workers, employers and community stakeholders in Norway and the United Kingdom – to highlight the mobility–immobility dynamic in practice.