Hometown Transnationalism: Long Distance Villageness among Indian Punjabis and North African Berbers (Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship) - Hardcover

"A theoretically informed, thought provoking and path-breaking study of hometowm transnationalisam. Drawing upon the Algerian Kabyles and Moroccan Chleuhs in France and Indian Sikhs in the UK, it unravels the identity dynamics of hometown organizations' members and temporality of transnationalism, taking the reader to a journey across continents incorporating the concept of time. A must read for anyone interested in migration and diaspora studies." - S Irudaya Rajan, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and Centre for Development Studies, India

"Why are migration hometown organizations so common and why do they look so much alike across contexts? Thomas Lacroix's empirically grounded and theoretically sophisticated answer, based on his long term research with Algerians, Moroccans, and Punjabis makes a creative contribution to social as well as migration theory. Participating in sending community development is a communicative act expressing plural identities, a place in history, a link to memory, and wealth and power all adding up to a provocative new take on human rationality." - Peggy Levitt, Wellesley College, USA

"Interest in immigrants and their hometown connections is at an all-time high, as scholars and policymakers ponder the consequences of immigrants' willingness to help out the communities they left behind. For insight into this phenomenon, Thomas Lacroix' Hometown Transnationalism is an outstanding source: sophisticated, utterly original, and based on the author's deep immersion in the field, this book provides a European perspective on a topic thus far mainly studied in the new world. Hometown Transnationalism is a must read for students and scholars of migration, on both sides of the Atlantic." - Roger Waldinger, UCLA, USA

"Based on extensive fieldwork among three immigrant communities in Britain and France, Lacroix's study provides a novel and insightful look into the multiple links between these communities and their countries of origin. A significant contribution to the field." - Alejandro Portes, Princeton University, USA

Collective remittances, that is to say development initiatives carried out by immigrant groups for the benefit of their place of origin, have been attracting growing attention from both academics and policy makers. Focusing on hometown organisations, this book analyses the social mechanics that are conducive to collective transnationalism.