Structural Embeddedness in Transnational Social Fields: Personal Networks, International (Im)Mobilities, and the Migratory Capital Paradox

In this article we focus on individuals’ structural embeddedness in transnational social fields (TSFs) and examine how this is related to patterns of international mobility. The main argument is that the structure of TSFs matters for (im)mobility trajectories, and thus all actors (migrants, non‐migrants, and returnees) need to be examined as a whole to obtain a deeper understanding of the role of social networks in processes of transnational mobility. Taking the case of Romanian migrants in Spain as a TSF connecting their place of origin (Dâmbovița in Romania) with their destination (Castelló in Spain), we analyze survey data for 303 migrants, non‐migrants, and returnees, sampled through an RDS‐like binational link‐tracing design. We then categorize types of personal network using an international mobility scale to assess the degree of structural embeddedness in the TSF. An important contribution is the rigorous operationalization of TSF and assessment of the level of migratory capital of each individual. Our results reveal that migratory capital is not always linked positively with high mobility patterns and that its role is strongly related to the overall composition and structure of the TSF.

A Privilege not a Choice: Transnational Support Networks of Asylum Seekers and Expatriates

The article explores how different factors shape migrants’ transnational social fields and support networks through a comparative study of two different groups of migrants—asylum seekers and expatriates—in Budapest, Hungary. To do so, the study employs a parallel mixed‐methods social network design by combining personal network data with qualitative data based on interviews and ethnographic fieldwork with thirty‐three migrants in the aftermath of the 2015 refugee crisis. The article presents three key findings: First, it finds that asylum seekers’ and expatriates’ networks differ on several key characteristics, as asylum seekers’ close personal networks are less efficient, smaller in size, and show a remarkable lack of friendship and transnational support ties. Second, it also finds that asylum seekers have limited access to social support and, especially so, to financial and emotional support. Lastly, using multi‐level models, the article also demonstrates how migrants’ legal status and the transnationality of their support ties affect their access to financial support, as well as how their gender and legal status shape their access to emotional support. These findings illustrate how migrants’ individual opportunity structures affect their transnational practices alongside their access to social support, while also highlighting the importance of several individual and contextual factors which contribute to the diverse integration processes of migrants.

Introduction

This section introduction explores the imaginative dimension of mobility in two West African countries, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Building on literature that highlights the existential dimension of movement and migration, the authors explore three socio-cultural patterns that inform representations of im/mobility: historical continuities and the longue-durée perspective on mobile practices, the association of geographical mobility with social betterment, and the interaction between local aspirations and the imaginary of global modernity. The three individual contributions by Bedert, Enria and Ménard bring out the work of imagination attached to im/mobility both in ‘home’ countries and diaspora communities, and underline the continuity of representations and practices between spaces that are part of specific transnational social fields.

Measuring transnational social fields through binational link-tracing sampling

We advance bi-national link-tracing sampling design, an innovative data collection methodology for sampling from so-called “transnational social fields”, i.e. transnational networks embedding migrants, returned migrants and non-migrants. This paper describes our contributions to this methodology and its empirical implementation, and evaluates the features of the resulting networks (sample), with the aim to guide future research. We performed 303 face-to-face structured interviews on sociodemographic variables, migration trajectories and personal networks of people living in a Romanian migration sending community (Dâmbovița) and in a migration receiving Spanish town (Castellón). Inter-connecting the personal networks, we built a multi-layered complex network structure embedding 4,855 nominated people, 5,477 directed ties (nominations) and 2,540 edges. Results indicate that the link-tracing nomination patterns are affected by sex and residence homophily. Our research contributes to the emerging efforts of applying social network analysis to the study of international migration.

The Macrofoundations

Chapter 2 is the first theoretical chapter developing the contours of the theory of socio-spatial positionality and how it applies to the four types of diaspora entrepreneurs—Broker, Local, Distant, and Reserved. They operate in transnational social fields, simultaneously embedded in different global contexts. The chapter builds on diaspora-, host-land-, and home-land-centric theories and further integrates three streams of thought that have not been in conversation with one another. First, it reimagines transnational social fields from a socio-spatial positionality perspective, considering earlier work in International Political Sociology. Secondly, it draws on scholarship on fragile and weak states in IR, especially on de facto states, and discusses their place in the international system and the rationales through which they engage diasporas abroad. Third, the chapter consults relational theories in IR, demonstrating that durable interactions among actors in international politics form structures spanning borders. These theories are useful to think about configurations of socio-spatial linkages of the four types of diaspora entrepreneurs, at the core of the typology. The chapter then lays out the socio-spatial positionality approach and its major features—relativity, power, fluidity, and perception—while delving deeper into the individual level of analysis. The four types of diaspora entrepreneurs have different socio-spatial positionalities at the intersection of various global contexts that empower them differently to pursue homeland-oriented goals. The chapter ends with a discussion about structure and agency in diaspora mobilizations.

Conclusions

Chapter 11 summarizes the two-level typological theory and empirical evidence from the three transnational social fields of the Armenian, Albanian, and Palestinian diasporas. A chart summarizes how the different types of diaspora entrepreneurs are more or less present on the nine causal pathways, followed by a discussion. A causal pathway, even if not always present in each case, gets repeated across the three transnational social fields, hence allowing for comparative generalization. The chapter demonstrates the relevance of this book’s findings to recent conversations about diasporas’ public diplomacy, soft power, authoritarian states’ outreach to diasporas abroad, and the diasporas’ autonomy. It appeals to look at how homeland governments, non-state actors, and political parties have different capacities to penetrate the diaspora and engage specific personalities within it. Preliminary empirical evidence shows how the theoretical approach of this book speaks to other cases. The evidence relates to diaspora linkages to other de facto states (Tamil Eelam, Taiwan), a stateless diaspora related to multiple fragile states in the Middle East (Kurdish), diasporas linked to both weak and fragile states (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Syria), and to relatively stronger states with significant diasporas abroad (Bulgaria, Poland and Ukraine). The conclusions feature policy recommendations.

New Horizons? Comparisons and Frames of Reference of Polish Multiple Migrants Worldwide

Building on the literature on transnational social fields (Levitt & Glick Schiller, 2004) and the research agenda on pluri-local transnational studies (Pries, 2001), in this article we examine the processes of Polish migrants’ social positioning. Nowadays many migrant trajectories are more complex than moving just from one place to another, involving repeated migration spells, returns, and onward mobility. In particular, multiple migration routes involving more than one destination expand the horizons lived by migrants and hence the frames in which they can position themselves. We adopt an actor-centred approach to better understand how highly mobile individuals negotiate social comparisons concerning the contexts they have engaged in during their multiple migration spells. This article draws on qualitative data from the MULTIMIG project that examines Polish migration worldwide. The analysis is based on a qualitative panel study with 70 Poles living abroad, who have the experience of multiple migration (who have lived in two countries outside of Poland for at least three months in each). The interviews shed light on how Polish migrants make social comparisons, and in particular, which frames of reference they adopt.

The Migration-Development-Nexus from a gender-sensitive perspective: The Case of Colombian Women in Catalonia

This article focuses on analyzing the transnational activities of Colombian women living in Catalonia in order to determine if this migrant collective can be defined as transnational agent of development and social change. The research is based on the theoretical debates held on the Migration-Development-Nexus and the transnational migration paradigm. According to this paradigm, migrants create transnational social fields that link together their society of origin and destination through multi-stranded relations like the sending of remittance to their families, the creation of businesses and networks or the exchange of ideas and skills. Those elements can thus promote the development in both societies. In order to conduct the research, the article takes two key components into account that are crucial to understand the linkage between migration and development in the Colombian case: a) The armed conflict, that has lead to the forced and voluntary displacement of millions of Colombians as well as the post-conflict settings and their impact in the creation of transnational fields; b) The role that gender affects the situation and condition of migrants, as the Colombian migrant collective is characterized by a high degree of feminization.