Transnationalism

Transnationalism is neither new nor limited to migration- related phenomena, but refers to a wider range of actions, processes and institutions that cross the boundaries of states or national communities. In migration studies, transnationalism has been generally used to refer to migrants’ ongoing ties with source countries. After discussing the historical evolution of this theoretical approach, its momentum and critics, examples of transnational practices in Europe are described and the impact of migration policy considered. The rest of this chapter focuses instead on the link between migrant transnationalism, integration and interculturalism with a number of open research questions supported by selected empirical findings. At the end, the need for further research on the complex link between these concepts has been advanced by proposing a longitudinal method with an intersectoral approach aimed at further understanding the changing transnational, inclusion and intercultural practices of diverse research samples.