Transnational Movements, Diaspora, and Multiple Modernities
Author(s)
Tambiah, Stanley J.
Abstract
After identifying three transnational movements – of population, capital, and information – that are transforming the postmodern world, the first is analyzed in depth, focusing on the dynamics and patterns of different groups of both voluntary migrants and displaced refugees to other countries and the diasporas they create there. UN data are presented on the distribution of the world’s population and international migration patterns, particularly those from the developing to the developed world. Some broad varieties of migrant incorporation into new communities are described, including assimilation, exclusion, integration, and multiculturalism, along with ways in which these are shaped by the institutional arrangements and policies of the receiving counties. The cultural and political lives of diasporic communities are discussed, particularly their systems of vertical and lateral networks and how these interact with those of the host society and global system. Case studies are offered of the South Asian Indian and Mexican diasporas in the US.
