Suchergebnisse

AbstractIn recent years, there have been repeated calls to refocus studies of diasporic engagements, especially their conceptual underpinnings, underlying assumptions and units of analysis. Based on a qualitative case study of Afghan diasporic groups in Britain and Germany, I propose a refined approach to such engagements. I combine the distinction between different spheres of engagement with key concepts from relational sociology. Afghans in both countries participate in a plethora of transnational engagements, which vary according to the extent of their orientation towards the public or private sphere. At the same time, clearly delineated groups of people undertake engagements observed in different spheres, which different aims and objectives drive. Although informants' attachments to their home country are important, they are not the only basis on which they act. My conceptual angle seeks to inspire critical, nuanced and theoretically rich research on diasporas as social actors and transnational civic engagement in a wider sense.

Dieser Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit den Auswirkungen ambivalenter Männlichkeitskonstruktionen auf die Lebensrealitäten und Handlungsstrategien von afghanischen Geflüchteten in Deutschland und der Schweiz. Wir zeigen, wie Argwohn, Ausgrenzungserfahrungen und rechtliche Prekarität in der Aufnahmegesellschaft in Kombination mit Verantwortungsgefühlen gegenüber Familienmitgliedern ein vergeschlechtlichtes Spannungsfeld für männliche Geflüchtete erzeugen. Dieses ergibt sich aus widersprüchlichen Handlungsimperativen der europäischen Migrationspolitik, prekärem rechtlichem Status und unerfüllten Erwartungen der Familie gegenüber und setzt männliche Geflüchtete einem geschlechtsspezifischen Risiko doppelter Marginalisierung aus.

Abstract
This article examines agency unfolding in the relationships that Afghan migrants and return migrants maintain with Afghanistan. Based on qualitative case studies of Afghan diaspora groups in Germany and the UK and Afghan return migrants in Kabul, we focus on how people engage with and position themselves in relation to Afghanistan. Drawing on Emirbayer and Mische's tri-dimensional concept of agency in combination with Vigh's idea of social navigation, we approach affective relations and forms of practical (transnational) engagement as expressions of agency. Research on migrants and return migrants is seldom brought together. However, exploring the types of engagement of these two groups with Afghanistan is telling for three reasons. First, it enables us to identify parallels and differences in the way Afghan migrants and return migrants relate to Afghanistan. Secondly, we uncover how ideas of change vary in different settings and under different socio-political conditions. Thirdly, we demonstrate that ties between people and place are not innate but an expression of agency and self-positioning. These in turn are contingent on individual characteristics and the context in which people are embedded. Compared to policy-oriented discussions on the migration-development nexus and on forms and outcomes of migrant engagements, our study yields a more nuanced understanding of entanglements between agency and engagement among Afghan migrants and return migrants.