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This paper presents findings from a qualitative research project examining the dating narratives of single migrant men residing in Sweden and Italy. The study, analyzing 48 interviews with individuals from Syrian, Polish, Bangladeshi and Romanian backgrounds, along with ethnographic observations, employs a theoretical framework rooted in sexual capital theory and critical studies on men and masculinities. The analysis sheds light on the challenges faced by heterosexual single migrant men in their pursuit of intimate partners, attributing these difficulties to lower levels of social, economic and cultural capital, as well as the influence of their specific masculinities, which may be perceived as less attractive within the host societies. The paper argues that the migrant experience can be viewed as a distinctive sexual field wherein individuals encounter unique dynamics and obstacles in the realm of intimate relationships. The implications of these findings extend beyond the personal experiences of migrant men, offering insights into the broader socio-cultural landscape of host societies and the complex interplay between migration, masculinity and intimate relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops theories of place in relation to migration to argue that the diasporic population of Chinese migrants in Prato, Italy, live not only 'out of place' due in no small part to marginalisation and racism, but also live 'in place' as they resist and make meaning from experiences and interactions with particular places. We argue that place-based dynamics occurring in urban spaces such as Prato can best be understood in the context of a globalised fashion industry and the hegemony of global supply chains. We develop and extend the meanings of 'out of place' to show that migrants are doubly marginalised. We suggest that their conceptions of place reveal unexpected ways in which they live at the margins of society and not only experience racism but resist it. This paper integrates three different types of ethnographic data: (1) unstructured, in the form of ethnographic noticing; (2) structured, in the form of free listing; and (3) semi-structured in the form of interviewing. Combining these methods strengthens our argument for the importance of place-based experiential knowledge. We offer a critical lens on a globalising Europe and expose particular modes of marginalisation, racism, and resistance. We end with possible applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how diaspora youth is impacted by and deals with the legacies of the violent conflict in their parents' homeland of Bosnia. Based on the analysis of narrative-biographic interviews with second-generation Bosnians in Switzerland and ethnographic observations in diaspora spaces, this paper highlights the repercussions that Yugoslav disintegration wars and, particularly, the war in Bosnia (1992–1995) have for young people who were raised in Switzerland. First, it demonstrates that instead of a coherent picture about the past, young people receive fragments and pieces of personal memories and experiences that their families went through. Second, the history of conflict has repercussions for the ways young people establish and articulate their sense of attachment and belonging to the homeland of their parents. Third, while second-generation Bosnians rarely reproduce the conflict dynamic themselves, they move in spaces in which the legacies of conflict continue to be an important discursive and structural force. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 'transnational turn' in welfare regime theory has disrupted methodologically nationalist analyses of care regimes generating analytical frameworks that capture the interdependencies between care and migration regimes. Those frameworks share a focus on migration for paid care labour as the vehicle connecting care and migration regimes transnationally. In this paper, we highlight familial care-labour mobility as an additional mechanism connecting care and migration regimes across borders. Drawing on the care circulation framework, we argue that a focus on these informal global care chains helps to bridge macro structural level approaches of the frameworks that focus on paid care labour with the more micro-level transnational family care approach. We focus on grandparent care-labour mobility, arguing that while it is 'familial', 'informal', 'private' and 'invisible', its dynamics and the lived experiences of those entwined within it, are mediated at the care-migration systems nexus. Through case-studies on grandparent care-labour mobility between China and Australia and India and the UK, we examine how the care-migration systems nexus is shaped by the prevailing logic of neoliberalism and ensuing patterns of stratification within care and migration systems. We conclude by highlighting the need for a transnational ethics of family care to govern the care-migration systems nexus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the nexus between migration governance and higher education. While the intersections between these two societal/policy systems have received attention in existing literature, much has changed as a result of the recent COVID-19 crisis. The global pandemic has introduced spatial and temporal disjuncture that significantly impact how international students navigate these systems. We address this issue through the lens of international student mobility, taking postgraduate international students' perspectives as a vantage point. By drawing on a comparative qualitative study between Singapore and the UK (specifically, London), we focus on how international students experience, first, (mis)alignments between migration governance and pandemic-induced mobility regulation and, second, tensions between mobility regulations and institutional measures adopted by universities in Singapore and the UK. In both contexts, pandemic governance often compounded the complexities of migration policies, creating additional barriers for international students. In navigating these new challenges, international students adaptively draw on various resources while also imagining new possibilities presented by the otherwise challenging circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the war in Eastern Ukraine, 1.7 million internally displaced people (IDPs) from the Donbas region and returnees were required to maintain their IDP status to access state welfare provisions and freedom of movement. The policy regime of displacement enforced by the Ukrainian state and by the quasistate formations in the region created marginalising and discriminatory effects for the people struggling to understand their new position vis-a-vis the state. As a result, they designed and employed various strategies to escape the differentiation displacement produced and reinstate their citizenship and belonging. This article explores the Ukrainian case of protracted displacement in light of the current escalation with millions more displaced. The research is based on the qualitative material collected in 2020 and 2021 on both sides of the 'contact line' in Eastern Ukraine by means of qualitative interviews and ethnographic observations. The paper contributes to the debate on protracted displacement by showing how people relate to and negotiate the IDP status and reaffirm their citizenship in narratives and interactions with the state. The case of displacement in Ukraine shows the power of social citizenship for people to resist the marginalising processes from within the bounds of citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we explore the potential of short-term ethnography in a collaborative and participatory research project on experiences with and perceptions of migration from fieldwork with Roma groups in north-western Transylvania. We discuss particularly the challenges we encountered in engaging Roma women in terms of existing cultural and gender norms evident in some Roma communities. We argue that, in the context of working with women in patriarchal communities, short-term ethnography offers researchers a unique opportunity to (a) find and take advantage of safe spaces in which to talk to women and (b) manage sensitively access and rapport. In this study, ethnography gave insights into alternative ways of engagement in the research process based on categorisations that emphasise alternative aspects of social identity (Roma 'mothers' vs. Roma 'women') as an effective means of breaking down some of the barriers to participation. Finally, we argue that short-term ethnography can be used successfully in collaborative and participatory research projects alongside traditional ethnographic work to explore the perspectives of mobile and vulnerable or marginalised groups including, but not limited to, patriarchal group contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores place attachment and well-being among Afghan refugees in a small Finnish town. The small town offers a unique perspective on newly arrived Afghan refugees' place attachment, as it only started receiving resettled Afghan refugees in 2012. Our analysis draws on the sociology of associations and the concept of assemblages, which provide a novel theoretical lens for integration studies. The data in this study were collected by utilising multi-sited ethnography from 2016 to 2018. The analysis reveals that there is a socio-material side to building place attachments. Different actor-assemblages can 'plug in' or attach themselves to a place in divergent ways, but neither the individual nor the place determines the outcome of the resettlement. Some of our research participants found it easy to connect with surrounding assemblages, while others could not connect at all. The third group had initial incompatibility issues but was able to reassemble attachments by using a variety of adapters. These adapters can be the 'keys to the city' for newly arrived refugees. Support in finding these adapters would be important for social service providers as well as policy makers to focus on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do rights education workshops have value when rights are difficult or impossible to claim? Drawing on three years of ethnographic field work of rights workshops for undocumented workers in the U.S., this article answers that question in the affirmative. Because of their legal status, these workers rarely, if ever, claimed rights. Yet for our subjects, these rights workshops played an important role. During in-depth interviews, attendees of the workshops described how they frequently experienced the law as an unpredictable and isolating force, which we trace to both their precarious legal status as well as their position as immigrants. Participants explained how rights education workshops shaped their experience of the law, introducing 1) a sense of predictability and control, alleviating fear and anxiety, 2) social support, reducing isolation and stigma, and 3) a sense of dignity and empowerment. We suggest that a right consciousness incorporating empowerment and dignity derives from rights' universalistic dimensions, while a rights consciousness culminating in mobilisation is dependent upon a group's status in local legal institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the various forms of ethnic incorporation present in the daily lives of ethnic Koreans living in Beijing, including the conditions of their integration into Chinese society. On the basis of an ethnographic research (2014–2015) in Wangjing area, an alleged 'Koreatown' in Beijing, this study involves three ethnic categories, namely, South Koreans, Korean Chinese and Han Chinese. The study suggests that Koreatown in Beijing is not a full-fledged ethnic community but a patchwork of ethnic categories, networks and associations. Ethnic cohesion is implicitly disaggregated by the Chinese urban governance over the foreign population embedded in the unfolding trend of internationalisation in Chinese metropolises. As a consequence, Korean cultural elements are incorporated into the increasingly cosmopolitan culture in Chinese metropolises, with ethnic categories maintained. However, Korean integration into the Chinese circumstance still has a substantially long way to go. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]