Encountering Difference – The experience of Nordic highly skilled citizens in India

Abstrakti

My dissertation is an analysis of how Danish and Finnish highly skilled temporary migrants encounter diff erence when they are living and working in a foreign country, India. Using the theoretical framework of social citizenship, I analyse how their identifi cation with formal institutions (vertical citizenship) informal institutions (horizontal citizenship), and the broader social (natural and physical) environment transforms as a result of the move. The results show that citizens have divergent citizenship constellations (Bauböck 2010). They experience changes both to their legislated social rights in their home country depending on the country of origin, duration of stay and whether they are in or out of work among other factors. In addition, their behaved citizenship – attitudes and responses to people and the social and physical environments they operate within – also changes in various ways among the same and diff erent nationalities. Among other reasons, the variations occur as a consequence of their divergent levels, ability and willingness to mobilize diff erent forms of capital; as a consequence of framing eff ects in relation to people, groups and institutions; and because of diff erent relationships to the state and the sending company.