Bøger af Thomas LaCroix

This work in two parts examines the relations between transnational societies and states. The second volume of this work contends that current policies meant to control or enhance transnational flows have led to the emergence of a transnational policy apparatus coined the transnational state. This book proposes an innovative conceptual framework to grasp the transformations of the contemporary state in both sending and receiving countries. It shows how states expand beyond national territorial limits by reaching out to migrants where they are. In response to the migrants' endeavours to circumvent the constrains imposed by selective migration policies, public authorities expand the reach of their control beyond (externalisation), within (internalisation) and at (expansion) borders. A totalitarian temptation seems to have seized contemporary state bureaucracies, affecting the very nature of borders and societies. The core argument of this research is that the development of the transnational state is not random. It is a process shaping and shaped by the structures of the transnational society.

This book is the first of a work in two parts addressing the relations between the transnational society and the state. It is dedicated to the analysis and conceptualisation of transnational societies. This work moves beyond the mere depiction of transborder socialities by shedding light on the fundamental structures underpinning them. It investigates the mechanics of their formation and evolution, their demise or transformation into diasporas. It theorises transmigrants as plural humans embedded and socialised in multiple settings, and whose activities are sustained and framed by three key social institutions: transnational families, businesses and associations. It sheds light on the construction of an intersubjective moral framework regulating the relations between migrants and non-migrants. Finally, it examines the space-time continuum of transnational societies.

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.