Hometown Transnationalism

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-x

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2. Introduction

   1. Introduction

      • Thomas Lacroix

      Pages 1-14

3. Methodological and Theoretical Outline

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 15-15

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   2. Selecting Groups: Moroccan Chleuhs, Algerian Kabyles and Indian Sikhs in Europe

      • Thomas Lacroix

      Pages 17-44

   3. Outline of a Structure and Agency to Hometown Transnationalism

      • Thomas Lacroix

      Pages 45-58

4. Transnationalism: An Emergent Process

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 59-59

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   2. Migration and the Village Lifeworld: Exploring the Ambivalence of the Migration Act

      • Thomas Lacroix

      Pages 61-84

   3. Hometown Organising and the Multipolarisation of Migrants’ Lives

      • Thomas Lacroix

      Pages 85-114

5. State Policies and Immigrant Volunteering: The Developmentalist Turn

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 115-115

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   2. The Indian and North African Volunteer Sector in Europe

      • Thomas Lacroix

      Pages 117-144

   3. Migrant Organisations and the New Governance of Development

      • Thomas Lacroix

      Pages 145-177

   4. Conclusion: Moving beyond the Postmodern Trap of Transnational Studies

      • Thomas Lacroix

      Pages 178-189

6. Back Matter

   Pages 190-217

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Collective remittances, that is to say development initiatives carried out by immigrant groups for the benefit of their place of origin, have been attracting growing attention from both academics and policy makers. Focusing on hometown organisations, this book analyses the social mechanics that are conducive to collective transnationalism.

• migrants
• migration
• Nation
• nationalism
• organization
• Transnational

“This monograph synthesizes and builds on Lacroix’s long-term research on three diasporas: Algerian Kabyles and Moroccan Chleuhs (both Berber subgroups) living in France and Indian Sikhs living in the United Kingdom. … This book is rich and insightful, and I recommend it as a resource for migration scholars (faculty and postgraduate students, at least), both theoretically and empirically. For policymakers it points (correctly) to the ambiguities and downright muddle of policy toward migrants in both home and host countries.” (Martin Evans, International Migrant Review, Vol. 51 (1), 2017) 

"A theoretically informed, thought provoking and path-breaking study of hometowm transnationalisam. Drawing upon the Algerian Kabyles and Moroccan Chleuhs in France and Indian Sikhs in the UK, it unravels the identity dynamics of hometown organizations' members and temporality of transnationalism, taking the reader to a journey across continents incorporating the concept of time. A must read for anyone interested in migration and diaspora studies." - S Irudaya Rajan, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and Centre for Development Studies, India

"Why are migration hometown organizations so common and why do they look so much alike across contexts? Thomas Lacroix's empirically grounded and theoretically sophisticated answer, based on his long term research with Algerians, Moroccans, and Punjabis makes a creative contribution to social as well as migration theory. Participating in sending community development is a communicative act expressing plural identities, a place in history, a link to memory, and wealth and power all adding up to a provocative new take on human rationality." - Peggy Levitt, Wellesley College, USA

"Interest in immigrants and their hometown connections is at an all-time high, as scholars and policymakers ponder the consequences of immigrants' willingness to help out the communities they left behind. For insight into this phenomenon, Thomas Lacroix' Hometown Transnationalism is an outstanding source: sophisticated, utterly original, and based on the author's deep immersion in the field, this book provides a European perspective on a topic thus far mainly studied in the new world. Hometown Transnationalism is a must read for students and scholars of migration, on both sides of the Atlantic." - Roger Waldinger, UCLA, USA

"Based on extensive fieldwork among three immigrant communities in Britain and France, Lacroix's study provides a novel and insightful look into the multiple links between these communities and their countries of origin.A significant contribution to the field." - Alejandro Portes, Princeton University, USA

• University of Poitiers, France

  Thomas Lacroix

Thomas Lacroix is CNRS Deputy Director of Migrinter, University of Poitiers, France. His work addresses the relationships between transnationalism and development, with a specific focus on North African emigrants. In 2005 he published Les réseaux marocains du développement. He is also also Associate Editor of the journal Migration Studies.

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