Shared Ethnicity and Its Role in Facilitating Stepwise Global Mobility of Skilled Migrants: The Case of Iranian Students in Turkey

• In Event: 2384 - Section on International Migration Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 05. Drivers and Dynamics of Migration

Abstract

This paper explores the link between global brain drain and international students’ multi-stage migration plans as transit migrants. Students as transit migrants are individuals who go to a transit country to obtain advanced degrees, but with the intention of going to another country as their final destination. Using David Harvey’s discussion of the “post-Fordist flexible accumulation” phase of globalization, and based on data from a non-random sample of fifty Iranian students enrolled in five major universities in Ankara, Turkey, the paper examines the ways students consciously chart their future career plans both at mezzo- and macro-levels.

Survey findings indicate that the majority of respondents can indeed be classified as transit migrants. First, at the mezzo-level Turkey’s shared culture, language, and geographical proximity to Iran make it an ideal transit country for Iranian students mostly from Turkic-speaking provinces and border regions. Second, they are savvy planners with adequate knowledge about their final destination and select their target country based on its employment prospects, extent of democratic freedoms, and the quality of higher education. Finally, informed planning plays a significant role as the new era of post-Fordist flexible accumulation sets the tone for the quality and quantity of needed global skilled workers.

Authors

• Mohammad A. Chaichian, Mount Mercy University

• Homa Sadri, Hacettepe University