Forms of Migrants

1
Forms of Migrants Political Transnationalism
Towards an Operational Typology

• Simona Kuti,
• Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies,
  Zagreb
• Divided Societies XII Building up the Polities
  The Balkans
• IUC, Dubrovnik, 20-25 April, 2009

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Contents

• Introduction transnationalism
• definitions
• criticisms
• Types of transnationalism
• economic
• socio-cultural
• political etc.
• Political transnationalism
• research (American vs. European perspective)
• determinants
• Elements for an operational typology
• narrow/broad and core/expanded dichotomies
• form/substance
• degree of institutionalisation, focus of
  activities, etc.

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Definitions (1)

• Glick Schiller et al. - transnationalism as "A
  New Analytic Framework for Understanding
  Migration" (1992)
• "the processes by which immigrants build social
  fields that link together their country of origin
  and their country of settlement. Immigrants who
  build such fields are designated transmigrants.
  Transmigrants develop and maintain multiple
  relations - familial, economic, social,
  organizational, religious, and political that
  span borders. Transmigrants take actions, make
  decisions, and feel concerns, and develop
  identities within social networks that connect
  them to two or more societies simultaneously."

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Definitions (2)

• "'transnationalism' broadly refers to multiple
  ties and interactions linking people or
  institutions across the borders of
  nation-states." (Vertovec, 1999)

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Definitions (3)

• "it is preferable to delimit the concept of
  transnationalism to occupations and activities
  that require regular and sustained social
  contacts over time across national borders for
  their implementation." (Portes et al., 1999)

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Meanings of Transnationalism

• Vertovec (1999) - transnationalism as
• 1) social morphology (transnational networks,
  transnational communities)
• 2) type of consciousness (dual or multiple
  identifications)
• 3) mode of cultural reproduction (cultural
  interpenetration and blending)
• 4) avenue of capital (transnational transactions,
  TNCs)
• 5) site of political engagement (INGOs, TSMOs)
• 6) (re)construction of 'place' or locality
  (translocalities, virtual neighbourhoods)

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New vs. Old Transnationalism

• "contemporary transnationalism involves more
  rapid and denser linkages between immigrants and
  the sending countries" (Itzigsohn, 2000)
• "For all their significance, early transnational
  economic and political enterprises were not
  normative or even common among the vast majority
  of immigrants, nor were they undergirded by the
  thick web of regular instantaneous communication
  and easy personal travel that we encounter
  today." (Portes et al.,1999)

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Transnational Actors

• Guarnizo and Smith (1998)
• "transnationalism from above"
• governments and corporations
• "transnationalism from below"
• immigrants, grassroots entrepreneurs, activists

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Cross-border activities by different types of
actors (Portes 2001 2003)
Activities Areas
Political Economic Socio-cultural
International Establishment of embassies and organization of diplomatic missions abroad by national governments. Export drives by farming, ranch, and fishing organizations from a particular country. Travel and exchange programmes organized by universities based on a specific country.
Multinational United Nations and other international agencies charged with monitoring and improving specialized areas of global life. Production and marketing activities of global corporations with profits dependent on multiple national markets. Schools and missions sponsored by the Catholic Church and other global religions in multiple countries.
Transnational a) Non-governmental associations established to monitor human rights globally. b) Hometown civic associations established by immigrants to improve their sending communities. a) Boycotts organized by grassroots activists in First World countries to compel multinationals to improve their Third World labour practices. b) Enterprises established by immigrants to export/import goods to and from their home countries. a) Grassroots charities promoting the protection and care of children in poorer nations. b) Election of beauty queens and selection of performing groups in immigrant communities to take part in annual hometown festivals.
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Areas of Transnational Activities

• Portes et al., 1999
• economic, political and socio-cultural
  transnationalism
• Itzigsohn et al., 1999
• civil-societal
• Levitt, 2003
• religious
• Al-Ali et al., 2001

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Categorisation of individual and community
activities by type and geographical focus (Al-Ali
et al., 2001)
Home country focus Host country focus
Economic Financial remittances Other remittances (e.g. medicine, clothes) Investments Charitable donations Taxes Charitable donations Donations to community organisations
Political Participation in elections Membership of political parties Political rallies Political demonstrations Mobilisation of political contacts in host country
Social Visits to friends and family Social contacts Social remittances Membership of social clubs Links with other organisations (e.g. religious and other refugee organisations) -Participation in discussion groups (e.g. Internet bulletin boards)
Cultural -Cultural events including visiting performers from the home country -Events to promote culture (e.g. concerts, theatre, exhibitions) -Education
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Participation in hometown associations as
indicator of

• socio-cultural transnationalism
• Itzigsohn and Saucedo, 2002 Portes, 2003
• civil-societal transnationalism
• Itzigsohn et al., 1999
• political transnationalism
• Landolt et al., 1999 Portes, 2001 Itzigsohn,
  2000
• economic transnationalism
• Vertovec, 2004 Portes et al., 2002

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Political Transnationalism (1)

• "wide range of phenomena" (Bauböck, 2003)
• "very dispersed field of inquiry" - includes
  activities such as transnational election
  campaigns and cross-border voting, migrants'
  rallies and demonstrations, engagement in
  hometown associations' projects in the region of
  origin (Østergaard-Nielsen, 2003)

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Political Transnationalism (2)

• European vs. American perspective
  (Østergaard-Nielsen, 2001 2003)
• amount
• focus
• receiving vs. sending country
• level of analysis
• top-down vs. bottom-up

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Definition

• transnational political practices include
  "various forms of direct cross-border
  participation in the politics of their country of
  origin by both migrants and refugees, as well as
  their indirect participation via the political
  institutions of the host country" (Østergaard
  Nielsen, 2001 2003)
• the question of mobility

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Research

• "Comparative Immigrant Enterprise Project" -
  CIEP, 1996-1998 - Colombian, Dominican, and
  Salvadoran immigrants (USA)
• Guarnizo et al., 2003
• transnational electoral participation -
  membership in a political party in the country of
  origin, monetary contributions to the parties,
  active involvement in political campaigns in the
  polity of origin
• transnational nonelectoral politics - membership
  in a hometown civic association, monetary
  contributions to civic projects in the community
  of origin, membership in charity organizations
  sponsoring projects in the home country

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Determinants of Immigrants' Political
Transnationalism

• gender
• marital status
• age
• human capital
• social capital
• lenght of U.S. residence
• (Guarnizo et al., 2003)

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• participation in transnational economic and
  political activities - exceptional and restricted
  to a minority of relevant populations
• regular engagement in electoral politics - 9.9
  (15 - Dominicans)
• regular engagement in nonelectoral politics 18
  
• hometown civic associations - 16.3 -
  Salvadorans
• (Portes, 2001 2003 Guarnizo et al. 2003 Portes
  et al. 2002)

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Dichotomies

• "narrow" and "broad" transnational practices
  (Itzigsohn et al., 1999)
• "core" and "expanded" transnationalism (Guarnizo,
  2000 Levitt, 2001)

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"Dimensions of narrow and broad transnationality"
(Itzigsohn et al., 1999)
Transnational practices
Narrow Broad
High Institutionalization Low
Constant Participation Occasional
Regular Movement Sporadic
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"Core" and "expanded" transnationalism

• activities of "core" transnationalism
• form an integral part of the individuals
  habitual life
• undertaken on a regular basis
• patterned and predictable
• activities of "expanded" transnationalism
• engagement in occasional transnational practices
• (Guarnizo, 2000 Levitt, 2001)

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Transnational political activities

• electoral non-electoral activities
• direct indirect participation
• institutional confrontational participation
• home host country focus of activities
• etc.

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"Dimensions of migrants' transnational political
practices" (Østergaard - Nielsen, 2003)

• immigrant politics
• homeland politics
• emigrant politics
• diaspora politics
• translocal politics

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Emergence of transnational practices

• linear transnationalism (Portes, 1999)
• reactive transnationalism
• resource dependent transnationalism (Itzigsohn
  and Saucedo, 2002)

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Concluding Remarks

• multilevel political institutional environment of
  migrants' transnationalism (Østergaard Nielsen,
  2003)
• 3 instrumental reasons for the involvement of
  sending states (Bauböck, 2003)
• human capital upgrading
• remittances
• political lobbying of receiving-country
  governments

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Concluding Remarks

• 5 types of sending state policies (Levitt and de
  la Dehesa, 2003)
• bureaucratic reforms
• investment policies
• political rights dual citizenship and external
  voting
• extension of state services abroad
• symbolic policies
• effects of international activities on
  transnational initiatives and types of responses
  (Portes)
• migrants' transnational activism as a
  constructive phenomenon (Guarnizo et al., 2003)