The Circular International Migration of New Zealanders: Enfolded Mobilities and Relational Places

Abstract

Migrants’ social relations are reconfigured in relation to how the localised and distanciated are recombined in context of how individuals are embedded in the enfolded mobilities of increasingly mobile social networks. The paper is organized around three main propositions. First, that social relations are structured across three main and intersecting domains – family, workplace and community. Second, that social relations and networks are shaped by, and shape, the relational nature of places. Third, that the relational nature of places, and the reconfiguration of localised and distanciated relationships should be analysed across the entire migration cycle. These ideas are explored through a study of the Big OE from New Zealand to the UK, based on in‐depth interviews with returned migrants.

Key Words:

• Migration cycle
• place
• workplace
• community
• family