Migration and Transnational Commitment : Some Evidence from the Italian Case

The idea of the active role of migrants in supporting the socio-economic development of their homeland is the subject of growing interest in academic and institutional debates. This expectancy can be framed theoretically in the notion of transnationalism, where the migrant is seen as an actor placed simultaneously in two or more social fields: those of the societies of origin and of destination. This article discusses this view from the point of view of the behaviour of migrants who have settled in a new country of immigration, Italy. It refers to the empirical research concerning three transnational phenomena: (1) the development of independent economic activities, focusing on their transnational projection and the economic promotion of the migrants' homeland; (2) the economic flows, mainly remittances, generated by transnational families, especially by mothers who move abroad leaving their children at home; (3) development cooperation projects which involve migrant associations. The results suggest that we can distinguish a basic transnationalism, typical of a new country of immigration, like Italy, from an advanced transnationalism, found in the US experience of the migrants' elites engaged in many forms of transnational commitment to their homeland.