Beyond compartmentalization: a relational approach towards agency and vulnerability of young migrants.
Based on fieldwork material from Lao People's Democratic Republic, this paper introduces an analytical framework that transcends compartmentalized approaches towards migration involving young people. The notions of fluid and institutionalized forms of migration illuminate key differences and commonalities in the relational fabric underpinning empirically diverse migration scenarios. Applying this framework to the role of networks in becoming a young migrant, this chapter sheds light on young migrants' differential scope for exercising agency. This redirects concerns about young migrants away from descriptive and static factors towards their relational position in the process of migration, which shapes their agency and vulnerability.
International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands. r.b.huijsmans@gmail.com
Roy
R
Huijsmans
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002755:Choice Behavior; D004493:Education; D004641:Emigration and Immigration / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007812:Laos; D008297:Male; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012925:Social Conformity; D012944:Social Support; D012947:Social Work / Q000458:organization & administration; D014171:Transients and Migrants / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D035862:Vulnerable Populations; D014937:Work / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult