Bosnian Austrians: Accidental migrants in trans-local and cyber spaces

Abstract

This article explores the on-site and online realities of Bosnian immigrants in Austria whose migration, at least initially, started as a forced displacement. It describes how their social networks-performed and sustained both in real and cyber space-are utilized in strengthening social cohesion and trans-local identities in relation to places in Austria and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Ultimately, the article attempts to challenge the established methodological and theoretical orthodoxies in migration studies and to deconstruct the myth about refugees as a 'societal burden' subject to charity, arguing that any strict division between different migration categories and paradigms will miss addressing the multiplicity of ever-changing relationships, meanings and opportunities especially as they are (re)imagined in the realm of cyberspace. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.