Transnationalism and

Globalisation
Dr. Sadananda Sahoo
Objectives
The main objectives of the unit are:
Be familiar with the concepts of Globalization and
Transnationalism
Understand their application and impact on the
societies, cultures and the political systems
Explore the diverse relationship between the two
terms with their similarities and differences.
Introduction
Before we go details into the Transnationalism and
globalisation, it will be better if we could give some
overview of migration and diaspora.
Migration: change of place or residence permanently
or semi-permanently for livelihood or for any other
reason.
International Migration: different political boundaries
Diaspora: More in terms of cultural and psychological
aspect of permanent international migration.
Transnationalism
Transnationalism is a very important term today.
It affects diverse areas of international governance
including interstate politics, values, foreign policy,
international organization and also personal lives.
Non-state actors such as: ethnic organisations,
professional bodies, corporate having transnational
presence etc.

Protests across the globe, lobby groups, ethnic

communities uniting (India & Pak cricket),
Transnationalism
Transnational perspectives provide deeper
understanding into a number of globally contingent
social, economic, and political processes including
social movements, governance and politics, terrorism,
political violence, and organized crime among others.
One of the most fruitful areas of study has been
transnational migration.
Transnationalism
Not a new term, first cited in 1916 by American
writer Randolph Bourne in his paper “Trans-
National America” describing what today we would
call “multiculturalism”

In the context of migration term was first used in

1990s
Definition
Transnationalism, as defined by Basch et al (1994) is “a
process by which migrants, through their daily life
activities create social fields that cross national
boundaries”

“transnationalism broadly refers to multiple ties and

interactions linking people or institutions across the
borders of nation states”
Transnationalism
Multiple Meanings
Different disciplinary approaches to the concept
Economic vs. social vs. cultural vs. geographical
Transnational Condition: Living in another country
than their country of origin.
Transnationalism
transnationalism in two ways:
Transnationalism from above: Corporations,
Transnational capital, global media.
Transnationalism from below: Informal economy
(remittances), shadow economy (illicit, drugs, etc),
ethnic nationalism…
Activities
Economic: Investment, Remittances (by
migrant/diaspora)
Political: Membership of political parties of home
countries
Socio-Cultural: Family visit, email, blog and virtual
chats among members of family spreading across
different countries (NRI, PIOs)
Globalisation and Transnationalism
Globalization implies the development of an
increasingly integrated global order which overrides
the ‘the local’ and ‘the national’. Both the processes,
however, espouse for free flow of capital, ideas and
people and complement each other.
Definitions of globalisation
“Globalization constitutes integration of National economies into the
International economy through trade, direct foreign investment (by
corporations and multinationals), short-term capital flows, international
flows of workers and humanity generally, and flows of technology”
Jagdish Bhagwati, In Defence of Globalization (Oxford, 2006), p. 3.

“[Globalization] is a reality that now affects every part of the globe and
every person on it, even though in widely differing local contexts.”.
Bruce Mazlish, “Comparing Global History to World History,” Journal of Interdisciplinary History 28/3 (1998), p.
387.

“A progressive increase in the scale of social processes from a local or

regional to a world level”
C.A. Bayly, ‘“Archaic” and A-Modern Globalization in the Eurasian and African Arena, c. 1750-1850',
in A.G. Hopkins, ed., Globalization in World History (2002), pp. 48-9.
The Dimensions of Globalisation
Movement Integration Global issues

People migration Communication Population and

cities and inequality
geographies

Things Trade and transport Resources and

commodities the environment

Actions Capitals Business and Economic crises

organisations

Values Ideas and States and Human Rights

ideologies institutions

Post 1500 Post 1820 Post 1945

Transnationalism & Globalisation
Two are intertwined
Globalization aids the intensification of world-wide
social relations which link distant localities in such a
way that local happenings are shaped by events
occurring many miles away and vice versa
Transfer of cultural practices (Chinese maggi going
global, Mcdonald, Dosa and Idli going all parts of the
world (singapore, new york)
Transnationalism & Migration
Long-distance politics: Cuban population in Florida
advocating for the fall of communism in Cuba
Khalistan Movement, Tamil Ilam etc…have
transnational character.
‘Homeland’ outreach– policies, rhetoric,
electioneering. (AAP, BJP, Congress and regional
parties have overseas network)
Sometimes transnational populations are diasporic–
exile or opposition groups
Dual citizenship/nationality– marked global upward
trend in claims through naturalization, marriage and
birth, widespread government policy shifts
Evolution and growth of Transnationalism
Transnationalism is linked to Globalization forces…
New technology connecting long distance networks
with increasing speed and efficiency (Vertovec, 1999)
Broadband Internet, Instant Messaging, Email, Skype,
Low cost Air Travel (aspects of globalization)
Information and communication technologies
crisscross national boundaries with relative ease,
creating the possibility for increased and intensified
forms of communication (Panagakos and Horst, 2003:
113
Transnational Identities
Ethnic groups identify with both cultures
Second generation begins to identify host country as
primary
Ethnographic evidence of Mexicans, Central
Americans, Caribbeans, and South Americans
identifying themselves as “Latino” rather than
American (Massey and Sanchez 2004)
Identities, borders and political orders
Challenges: nation-state challenged by economic
globalization, multi-lateral political agreements,
multiculturalism- threats from ‘above’ and ’below’
Migrant transnationalism adds: homeland-oriented
political activity
Questions of ‘loyalty’ dual citizenship
Challenges
Questions of ‘allegiance’
Cross-border multiple identities
Questions of ‘integration’
Immigrants or diaspora develop their own network,
ideologies and living style etc…
Demographic shift (while land non-white population)
Example: Many ethnic conflicts across the globe
related to these issues. Jews in Russia and Germany,
Rohingyas in Mynmar, Bangladeshis in India etc
Transnationalism & Diaspora
Indian Context
Indian diaspora spread across 150 countries
30 million total population
Majority in many countries
Migration spans from more than 200 years
Twice migrants
Family into several countries
Indian diaspora and transnationalism
Old Diaspora and New Diaspora (Issues and
Challenges)
Transnationalism in both cases are different
Old diasporas are only culturally linked to India
New diaspora are politically and economically
Often both have many common when it comes to
issues related to Indian diaspora in general i.e during
Fiji crisis.
Conclusion
Globalization intensifies migration, diaspora formation
and transnationalism.
As both virtual and real spaces are increasingly becoming
transnational it will be difficult to isolate any activities
from the transnational or global forces. Policies of local
govt is influenced by transnational forces. Family in rural
Bihar or UP is influenced by the transnationlism i.e
remittances and other cultural influence linked to the
transnational presence of their family members.
Interdisciplinary studies are very important to understand
the dynamics and dimension of the transnationalism.
References
Steven Vertovec (2009) Transnationalism, Routledge
Rainer Bauböck, Thomas Faist (ed) (2010) Diaspora and
Transnationalism: Concepts, Theories and Methods,
Amsterdam University Press
Brenda S. A. Yeoh, Collins, Francis L. (2022) Handbook
on Transnationalism, Edward Elgar publication