Migrants’ transnational social positioning strategies in the middle classes

Abstract

This paper examines the influence of class on migrants’ social positioning strategies in transnational spaces. It contributes to debates about the processes of transnational class-making and class formation. Going beyond an analysis of class in socio-economic terms, the paper focuses on peoples’ (changing) subjective understandings of middle-class membership as a relevant factor in migrants’ transnational social positioning strategies. Based on qualitative interview data with middle-class migrants in Germany, the presentation relates their experiences with downward social mobility before and after migration to their subjective perspectives on middle-class membership over time and in different places. The findings show that middle-class performance is shaped by migration experiences but also shapes peoples’ mobility trajectories and therefore influences and promotes different transnational lifestyles.