Transnational identities and agency: navigating everyday life as a young adult migrant in Glasgow, UK

Abstract

This article explores the identity narratives of a group of young adult migrants living in Glasgow, UK. The study builds on narrative interviews, to understand processes of identity negotiation, and the dynamics of macro-level political narratives on the everyday lives of micro-level actors. The analysis considers how identities are negotiated by the participant group with reference to everyday social interactions. Theoretically, theories of identity and transnational agency are used to analyse the capacity of young adult migrants to resist feelings of perceived difference and establish a sense of security in their identities. It is argued that the participants can enact a degree of agency, through the adoption of transnational identities, which permits them the opportunity to secure a sense of self and navigate their everyday lives in Scotland.