The latest IMI working paper, by Marieke van Houte, proposes a new theoretical framework by which to better measure the relationship between migration and (political) change. By seeking to better understand the processes of why people migrate and how they become involved in transnational activities, the author aims to answer two key concerns in migration and development:
1. What are the consequences of migration and transnational engagement for change in the country of origin?
and
2. How does change lead people to become a) migrants and b) transnationally engaged?
Using this new framework, the author examines migrants' agency, the structures within which they operate, their capacity and their desires, in order to create a more holistic picture of the complexity of the impact of migration on development and change. In using this new framework this paper aims to provide insights into how migrants become active agents of (political) change, and, furthermore, which migrants contribute to what kind of change.
This paper is the third published working paper from a major EC-funded project on transnational migration, citizenship and the circulation of rights and responsibilities (TRANSMIC).