Remittances of Thai female married migrants have been one of the recognized conflicts among Thai-German spouses for a long time. However, the issue of remittance has only been partially debated and clarified as the economic support of Thai wives towards their natal family in Thailand. This book analyzes the determinants that influence Thai migrant wives to send remittances to their natal families and investigates the impact of remitting on both their marital and origin family relationships. The study acquired primary data from the eight key informants by a case study research approach, and supportive information from secondary informants who were personally related to the key informants. Data collection methods included interviews (in-depth and focus-groups) and observations (non-participant and participant). The findings revealed that the financial aspect is the least significant reason for sending remittances among Thai wives in Germany. The remittance practice appears to be an adoption of the cultural gratitude belief deeply rooted in Thai wives’ mentality. Thai women reported having remitted to their parents before they married and maintaining this practice as a particular way to perform their decent child’s duty towards parents while living abroad. Remitting also carried a symbolic meaning of love and care underpinned by the concept of a gratitude culture.

This book provides one of the most comprehensive researches on Thai marriage migrants in Germany to date. It investigates the employment dilemma of Thai marriage migrants after implementation of the new Residence Act of 2005 in Germany. Also it sheds light on the underlying problems that hinder Thai marriage migrants’ potential as full-time labourers, examines the Thai diaspora and explores the present-day trans-nationalism of Thai marriage migrants in Germany. Most importantly, it applies Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical concept of capital, habitus and social space to better understand Thai marriage migrants’ career choices in the German milieu.

Drawing from empirically grounded studies, the volume Situated Mixedness sheds light on the state of migration-related “intimate diversity”, that is, the simultaneous formation and existence of various configurations of conjugal mixedness. It examines this phenomenon in Belgium, a country in the European Union with a long history of immigration and where an important percentage of registered marriages are international. Through the optic of “situated mixedness”, the volume pays attention to the (dis-)connections between intimate diversity and its surrounding environment. Bringing together mutually reinforcing or often contradicting emic and etic perspectives, it illuminates how specific context/s (socio-legal, cultural, temporal, etc.) not only can influence, stem from, or trigger a social phenomenon but also remain standstill without a particular impact on individual’s lived experiences. It brings out in subtle ways the agency and subjectivities of individuals, nuancing thereby common-held views on socially Othered couples. Focusing on the intimate sphere of individuals’ life at the crossroads of anthropology and sociology, the volume contributes fresh insights not only to the study of migration and intermarriage but also to the literature on super- and hyper-diversity. It will be of interest to scholars, students, and social actors working on family-related migration, state policies, and social cohesion.

This book explores migrant's global social remittances and their impacts on Europe. Exploring the topic from a range of disciplines including sociology, anthropology, geography and political science, the authors present empirical analyses covering a wide selection of international contexts across Europe, India, Iraq, Bolivia, Congo, Lebanon and Thailand. The book presents migrants not as Europe’s ‘cultural others’ but as an integral part of Europe’s global connection, and scrutinises the flows of knowledge, ideas, money, objects and values which result from the process of migration, rather than the migrants themselves. A valuable contribution to the literature on migrant transnationalism and globalisation, this book will appeal to scholars across the social sciences.

In a world grappling with refugee crisis, political unrest and economies on the verge of collapse, temporary migration has become an increasingly common phenomenon. This volume presents a comprehensive picture of the transformative and development potential of temporary transnational migration in political, legal, economic, social and cultural aspects. This book: analyses how temporary migration is distinct from more permanent and circular forms of migration; brings together case studies from five Asian countries (China, India, the Philippines, Thailand and Turkey) and six European countries (Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands and Ukraine); is based on exhaustive interviews of over 800 migrants, returnees and migrants’ family members, along with about 300 field experts, politicians, authorities and actors in civil society; illustrates the diverse nature of temporary migration, the continuing globalisation of the labour market and the interrelated changes to immigration, integration and emigration policies on local, national and international scales. This volume will be indispensable to scholars and researchers of development studies, international politics, international relations, migration and diaspora studies, public policy, sociology and social anthropology. It will also be of importance to government think tanks and non-governmental organisations working in these areas.

This book provides an insight on the Buddhist way of Thai temple life in German Diasporic context. It is based on input from several Thai Buddhist communities in Germany where the first-generation Thai transmigrants construct and form a sense of belonging by actively participating in temple life. It also explores the multifaceted role that Thai temples play in the lives of Thai transmigrants. Moreover, this book combines the anthropology of diasporas with Buddhism and identity.

This volume challenges the dominant discourse that perceives Asian women as either "mail-order" brides or overseas workers. Providing the first sustained critique of the artificial analytical division between brides and workers, the book demonstrates women's transition from brides to workers and from workers to brides. Focusing on how women workers use marriage as a strategy to gain citizenship and how migrants for marriage become workers, the authors present these modern Asian women in their multidimensional roles as wives, workers, mothers, and citizens.