Transnational studies are a newcomer in the landscape of migration studies. They are now regarded as the third pillar of migration studies, next to the study of integration in the receiving countries and of migration and development in the sending countries. This strand of research addresses the various forms of practices and socialities that migrants maintain across national boarders. As a political geographer, I am primarily interested in the intersection between transnational practices, power relations and state policies. How can we characterise migrants' transnational space-time compared to state territoriality? To what extent state policies shape or constrain the transnational engagements of migrants? Are the material (of people, goods and money) and immaterial (ideas, norms and symbols) flows induced by migrant transnationalism a chance or a challenge for state sovereignty?
Transnational studies are a newcomer in the landscape of migration studies. They are now regarded as the third pillar of migration studies, next to the study of integration in the receiving countries and of migration and development in the sending countries. This strand of research addresses the various forms of practices and socialities that migrants maintain across national boarders. As a political geographer, I am primarily interested in the intersection between transnational practices, power relations and state policies. How can we characterise migrants' transnational space-time compared to state territoriality? To what extent state policies shape or constrain the transnational engagements of migrants? Are the material (of people, goods and money) and immaterial (ideas, norms and symbols) flows induced by migrant transnationalism a chance or a challenge for state sovereignty?
The first part of the thesis consists in a review of the literature and a conceptual discussion about the concept of immigrant transnationalism and immigrant political transnationalism. This discussion shows that a series of gaps currently exists in the research on the links between the emigrants and the home country. Two of such gaps are underlined in the thesis. On the one hand, it remains difficult to determine why states decide to extend political citizenship to their citizens abroad. On the other hand, the influence of the state on its emigrant community seems neglected for the benefit of a post-national vision of citizenship. These are the gaps that this thesis is trying to address. The second part of the thesis presents in three case studies the results of the empirical research conducted in Italy, Belgium and Mexico. Some elements of migration history introduce each case and is then followed by an extensive analysis of the debate on the extension of political citizenship (especially the right to vote from abroad). A special focus is put on the role of internal actors (political parties, administrations.) and external actors (migrants, associations.). In the third part of the thesis, the author conducts a comparative analysis of the three cases. By doing so, the reasons why states extend political citizenship to citizens residing abroad appears clearly. It also leads to reject the post-national vision of citizenship supported by some scholars. After the presentation of the four variables pushing to act as they do in the field of external political citizenship, the thesis concludes by opening up new research tracks in the field of political transnationalism. ; La première partie consiste en une revue de la littérature et une discussion conceptuelle sur les concepts de transnationalisme et de transnationalisme politique dans le champ des études migratoires. Cet exercice met en lumière une série de lacunes dans la recherche actuelle sur les liens entre les émigrés et le pays d'origine. Deux de ces lacunes sont particulièrement mises en évidence. D'une part, il a y la difficulté de dégager les raisons poussant différents états à travers le monde à étendre la citoyenneté politique à leurs citoyens établis à l'étranger, et cela, en raison du faible nombre de projets de recherches comparatifs. D'autre part, le rôle de l'Etat semble négligé dans la littérature existante en raison de la prégnance d'une vision post-nationale de la citoyenneté dans nombre d'études sur les liens entre pays d'origine et émigrés. La deuxième partie est constituée de la restitution des données empiriques collectées dans trois pays: Belgique, Italie, Mexique. Chacun des cas d'étude est introduit pas une brève introduction au profil migratoire du pays. Ensuite, il est procédé à une analyse du débat sur l'extension de la citoyenneté politique entre acteurs internes (partis, administrations, pouvoir judiciaire…) et externes (migrants, associations…). La troisième partie consiste en une analyse comparative des trois cas d'étude. Il ressort de cette analyse que quatre variables poussent les états à étendre la citoyenneté politique externe. Chacune d'entre elles est examinée dans une dimension comparative. Le travail de thèse conclut en soulignant l'apport de la dissertation au champ de la recherche sur le transnationalisme dans les études migratoires et ouvre une série de pistes pour des recherches futures.
Diaspora and transnationalism are widely used concepts in academic as well as political discourses. Although originally referring to quite different phenomena, they increasingly overlap today. Such inflation of meanings goes hand in hand with a danger of essentialising collective identities. This book therefore analyses diaspora and transnationalism as research perspectives rather than as characteristics of particular social groups. The contributions focus on conceptual uses, theoretical challenges and methodological innovations in the study of social ties that transcend nation and state boundaries. This volume brings together authors from a wide range of fields and approaches in the social sciences, as studying border-crossing affiliations also requires a crossing of disciplinary boundaries.
We think of transnationalism as a tendency to delegate local, national and regional problems to transnational bodies and extol their virtues as unquestionably unbiased, rational, expert informed, consensual, creating a system informed by Habermasian communication. In the present state of world affairs, problems ranging from political, climatic, environmental and economic issues, to those concerning human rights infringements and biological and social diversity, are often seen as solvable through expert handling and mediated negotiations. The virtues of old-fashioned internationalism (of the Communist International, for instance) are dissolved in particularism and corporate style (because we need to understand the true nature of transnational institutions as corporations) identity politics. Growing grassroots alt-right and mass populist low right movements attest to a disoriented rage towards the faceless acronyms (like IMF) deciding on millions of individual destinies. The hope of internationalism as the bright future of humanity is highjacked to a collection of phrases at worst and humiliating humanitarian aid at best.
Well-known social scientist and humanist from USA, Latin America and Spain, such as Saskia Sassen, García Canclini or Monsivais, worked together at an international conference held in Los Angeles (Cal.) in order to make a compelling case for the transnational as an operative analytical category. Their essays, collected in this volume, consider how cultural studies, political analysis, urban studies and the study of migrations change when using a sort of a transnational perspective, that goes beyond the economic determinism underlying the liberal concept of "globalization" and the more critical of "mundialization". After an introduction that carves out a scientific space for a transnational frame of reference and clarifies its political dimensions, the book deals with three main issues: the interaction of global (supra-national) and local (infra-national) forces in global cities, post-metropolis and other post-national spaces; a critical consideration of current use of modern political discourse, from the oxymoronic notion of "world citizenship" to the ambivalent realities of "human rights"; and how transnational forces and scapes subvert collective imaginaries, figurations, identities and memories that formed the cultural core of nation(alism)
International audience ; The Christian Democrat movement appeared in Chile in the 1930s. From the beginning, its leaders were inspired by European thinkers and became integrated into international networks, thereby structuring their party on the ideological and organizational plan. European support has helped the development of the Christian Democrat Party, which is not a strict copy of the European parties. ; Le mouvement démocrate-chrétien apparaît au Chili dans les années 1930. Dès le début, ses dirigeants s'inspirent de penseurs européens et s'intègrent dans les réseaux internationaux, structurant ainsi leur parti sur le plan idéologique et organisationnel. Des financements européens appuient le développement du Parti Démocrate-Chrétien, qui n'est pas une stricte copie des partis européens.
International audience ; The Christian Democrat movement appeared in Chile in the 1930s. From the beginning, its leaders were inspired by European thinkers and became integrated into international networks, thereby structuring their party on the ideological and organizational plan. European support has helped the development of the Christian Democrat Party, which is not a strict copy of the European parties. ; Le mouvement démocrate-chrétien apparaît au Chili dans les années 1930. Dès le début, ses dirigeants s'inspirent de penseurs européens et s'intègrent dans les réseaux internationaux, structurant ainsi leur parti sur le plan idéologique et organisationnel. Des financements européens appuient le développement du Parti Démocrate-Chrétien, qui n'est pas une stricte copie des partis européens.
Pacific Islanders have engaged in transnational practices since their first settlement of the many islands in the region. As they moved beyond the Pacific and settled in nations such as New Zealand, the U.S. and Australia these practices intensified and over time have profoundly shaped both home and diasporic communities. This edited volume begins with a detailed account of this history and the key issues in Pacific migration and transnationalism today. The papers that follow present a range of case studies that maintain this focus on both historical and contemporary perspectives. Each of the contributors goes beyond a narrowly economic focus to present the human face of migration and transnationalism; exploring questions of cultural values and identity, transformations in kinship, intergenerational change and the impact on home communities. Pacific migration and transnationalism are addressed in this volume in the context of increasing globalisation and growing concerns about the future social, political and economic security of the Pacific region. As the case studies presented here show, the future of the Pacific depends in many ways on the ties diasporic Islanders maintain with their homelands.
In the international migration literature over recent decades there has been increasing interest in transnational movements and contacts. Researchers have shown that immigrants maintain economic, social, political and/or cultural ties with their home country (Basch et al. 1994; Levitt 2007; Portes 2000). The concept of transnationalism is not new. International migration tends to go hand-in-hand with intensive economic, social and cultural bonds between migrants and their family members and relatives at home (Engbersen et al. 2003). What is new, however, is the extent and diversity of these transnational ties, which can be explained by the availability of high-tech means of communication and transportation, such as cheap flights, longdistance telephone, the Internet, e-mail, and satellite television (Portes et al. 1999; Zhou 2004).
This paper investigates the relationship between transnational practices and integration by testing whether they are substitutes or complements. For this purpose, we use a multidimensional transnationalism index. The index includes three dimensions of transnational practices, including migrants' economic, political, and socio-cultural transnational practices. These three dimensions and their aggregated index are then compared to both structural and socio-cultural integration. The analysis is based on data from 815 migrant households in the Netherlands, gathered among first generation migrants from Morocco, Burundi, Ethiopia and Afghanistan. Our results show that both structural and socio-cultural integration provides tentative support for the complementary typology. Lack of resources is significantly associated with transnationalism, but does not act as a moderator of the integrationtransnationalism relationship. Among the four migrant groups studied in this paper, being multidimensionally transnational is associated with better structural and socio-cultural integration showing a complementary relationship. Implications for policy are discussed.
In view of the unprecedented technological progress that has resulted in 'time-space compression,' we have seen a spurt in the worldwide movement of human beings and capital. Such movements have impacts on political, economic and socio-cultural lives of individuals, communities and even on inter-state relationships. In critical parlance two prominent terms – transnationalism and diaspora – are used to describe this movement of man and money. The terms are often used interchangeably. However, it has been argued that they have their own 'distinct birth marks,' particular areas of emphases, and their own evolutionary histories. Dealing with issues related to cross-border migration, their interests often overlap. Diaspora, it has been asserted, is an old term, while transnationalism, as a phenomenon, appears in the 1990s to address certain emerging issues arising in the age of Globalisation. Diaspora and transnationalism have been regarded as 'awkward dance partners,' a phrase that points out both the existence of collaborative partnership and the presence of uneasiness in their relationship. This article makes an attempt to define the terms from the vantage point of our time and figure out their relationship. It also suggests that they should be regarded as cognate terms to analyse the growing impact of cross-border flow of human beings as well as economic and cultural resources.
The Christian Democrat movement appeared in Chile in the 1930s. From the beginning, its leaders were inspired by European thinkers and became integrated into international networks, thereby structuring their party on the ideological and organizational plan. European support has helped the development of the Christian Democrat Party, which is not a strict copy of the European parties. ; Le mouvement démocrate-chrétien apparaît au Chili dans les années 1930. Dès le début, ses dirigeants s'inspirent de penseurs européens et s'intègrent dans les réseaux internationaux, structurant ainsi leur parti sur le plan idéologique et organisationnel. Des financements européens appuient le développement du Parti Démocrate-Chrétien, qui n'est pas une stricte copie des partis européens.
The Christian Democrat movement appeared in Chile in the 1930s. From the beginning, its leaders were inspired by European thinkers and became integrated into international networks, thereby structuring their party on the ideological and organizational plan. European support has helped the development of the Christian Democrat Party, which is not a strict copy of the European parties. ; Le mouvement démocrate-chrétien apparaît au Chili dans les années 1930. Dès le début, ses dirigeants s'inspirent de penseurs européens et s'intègrent dans les réseaux internationaux, structurant ainsi leur parti sur le plan idéologique et organisationnel. Des financements européens appuient le développement du Parti Démocrate-Chrétien, qui n'est pas une stricte copie des partis européens.
Diaspora and transnationalism are widely used concepts in academic as well as political discourses. Although originally referring to quite different phenomena, they increasingly overlap today. Such inflation of meanings goes hand in hand with a danger of essentialising collective identities. This book therefore analyses diaspora and transnationalism as research perspectives rather than as characteristics of particular social groups. Its contributions focus on conceptual uses, theoretical challenges and methodological innovations in the study of social ties that transcend nation and state boundaries. Bringing together authors from a wide range of fields and approaches in the social sciences, this volume is evidence that studying border-crossing affiliations also requires a crossing of disciplinary boundaries.
