Self-legitimation and sense-making of Southern European parents' migration to Norway: The role of family aspirations

Abstract

This article explores the migration narratives of Southern European parents living in Norway, where family projects emerged as a central theme. Migrant parents told stories not only of disillusionment and sacrifice but also of satisfaction, which they articulated around their aspiration to have a family life after migration. We analysed the informants' storytelling and explored the ways that family aspirations manifested. By articulating their migration experiences through their aspirations to grow their family, the migrant parents claimed a position as subjects in Norwegian discourses on parenting and citizenship and distanced themselves from discourses on labour immigration and immigrant parenting. The article aims to contribute to the scholarship on motivations for post-2008 intra-European migration and on narrative legitimation by drawing attention to the way migrants use their family projects as a vehicle for self-legitimation, for claiming rightful membership to the host society and for justifying this position to themselves and others.