From Internal to Transnational Mobilities

Abstract

Within migration studies, it is common to encounter the distinction \nbetween internal and international migrations. The first is used to indicate \nindividuals who move within the borders of a single country, such as \ncircular rural-urban migration for instance, whereas the second is defined \nas the act of moving across international boundaries (transnationally) \nfrom a country of origin to a country of destination. Although the study \nof these processes constitute domains of research that have been \ndeveloped as distinct fields, these two forms of mobility are related. \nTherefore migration scholarship should extend the analytical perspective \nbeyond national borders and overcome the gap between internal and \ninternational population movements. From a phenomenological point \nof view, in many cases internal migration, which often relies on kin, \nreligious or ethnic networks, gives rise to organisational solutions that \nprove crucial for transnational mobility. There is another important reason \nto keep in mind the internal-international nexus in migration studies: \nthe protagonists of internal migration may be former transnational \nmigrants and seemingly cosmopolitan transnationals may eventually \nend up in small, remote, rural areas. Moreover, cross-fertilization \nbetween the two perspectives is important from a methodological and \nconceptual point of view. This volume seeks to contribute to facilitating \nan initial discussion and exchange of ideas stemming from different \nresearch programs undertaken in different countries and from different \ndisciplinary perspectives, with the aim of enhancing the analysis of \ncontemporary mobilities by transcending the division between internal \nand international migration theories and methodologies.

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