A Conceptual and Empirical Critique of ‘Social Remittances’: Iraqi Kurdish Migrants Narrate Resistance

This chapter focuses on instances where migrants actively desire to make a social transfer, but mostly report that they cannot. The author suggests that the distinction between aspiration and ability usefully draws attention to the opportunity structure of migrants who view themselves as potential but not necessarily actual agents of change. This distinction is explored in light of how migrants relate to corruption in the country of origin. Empirically, this analysis is based primarily on 72 in-depth semi-structured interviews with Iraqi Kurdish returnees from the United Kingdom and Norway back in Iraqi Kurdistan. The analysis allows for a critical re-examination of the concept of social remittances, and for a less celebratory account of migrants’ role in the globalization of cultural politics.