The Everyday Transnational Practices of Migrant Youth: A Transcultural Perspective

Transnationalism is part of broader globalisation processes and raises important questions in relation to migration, identity, multiculturalism and the very nation-state itself. The focus of this paper is on the transnational practices of migrant youth in three Western, multicultural cities. The transnational engagements of migrant youth often engender cultural, social and political connections between both countries of origin and countries of residence. These multi-dimensional networking practices and connections raise questions around the cultural identity of migrant youth, the nature of their membership of multiple political community(ies) and the social implications of their cross-border practices. Using comparative insights from qualitative and quantitative empirical findings, this paper posits that migrant youth engage in transnational practices in agentic ways that create and strengthen the possibilities for multiple articulations of cultural identity, political attachment and social belonging. This framing of transnational practices, within an increasingly inter-dependent and fluid global context, challenges the otherwise hyper-securitised discourse around the singularity of political allegiance and fixity of cultural identification among migrant youth.