Diplomat and International Worker Mobilities: A Family Lens on Power Dynamics

Abstract

This article applies a family lens to power relations experienced by families of diplomats and international workers during frequent relocations. The life-making practices of families are crucial for intergenerational well-being as well as these workers' international assignments. The familial power dynamics unfold across spaces and temporalities at various scales and reveal the work invested in creating the international and diplomatic ‘façade’. Drawing on research carried out in 2022–2023 with diplomats, representatives of international organisations and their family members from Latvia, this article examines four domains within which power dynamics operate: couple relationships; relationships with children; extended and non-kin relationships; and ‘doing family’ in broader diplomatic and international communities. Applying a family lens to such highly skilled mobilities extends critical discussions on skills and power in diplomacy and international relations – often perceived as male-dominated areas of work – and illuminates how familial relationships are contingent on making these mobilities possible over space, time, and generations. Furthermore, the focus on family sheds a new light on pertinent issues, such as the relationship between (trans)nationalism and family and the production of social and cultural capital across spaces.