Migrants or Expatriates?

Americans in Europe

Kenneth A. Loparo, Amanda Klekowski von Koppenfels

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9781349334063, 9780230296961
• eBook ISBN: 9781137316301
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Public Law
• Index: Social Sciences

This book examines the migration, integration and transnational activity of overseas Americans – American migrants – in France, Germany and the UK. It examines the reasons for their migration, introduces the concept of 'accidental migrant' and explores the question of overseas Americans' integration and identity formation.

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Introduction

Introduction

‘Oh, wow, look, that house has an amazing jack- o’-lantern!’ ‘I’ll beat you there!’ The two children stampeded up the stairs to the house with the grinning pumpkin. Coming down the stairs a minute later, the little boy, with his twin sister peering over his shoulder, pulled his newly won piece of candy from his plastic pumpkin, which was emblazoned with a green glowstick. ‘Butterfinger’, he slowly read out. ‘Mommy, what’s that?’ His mother responded with a delighted cry of ‘Oh, I love Butterfingers!’

It was Halloween – but with a twist. American¹ parents exclaimed over (and ate) candy they remembered from childhood, while some children were perplexed at the odd names of unfamiliar candy and others were thrilled to receive imported Reese’s peanut butter cups and other American classics. It was Halloween in Overijse, Belgium, a suburb of Brussels, and I was there with my own children. Some 300 children participated in trick-or-treating in several streets of this neighborhood, blocked off for the evening by the local police.

Originally organized as a small neighborhood event in the early 2000s by an American who wanted to ensure that her Belgian-born American children would be able to experience the American Halloween of her childhood, the event grew each year; Overijse Halloween had several local sponsors by 2010 (including some American-owned businesses), and were required to coordinate with police to manage the crowds and traffic. While quite a few Belgians and other nationalities joined the trick-or-treating, Americans, both recent arrivals and long-term residents, were the majority, delighting in being able to share this American tradition with their often Belgian-born American offspring. As the night wore on, overlays of local traditions emerged: ‘They should be giving out mulled wine to the adults,’ grumbled one American mother, stamping her feet in the cold.

Scenes such as this play out all over the world, as many Americans living overseas – American migrants – maintain American cultural traditions and pass them on to the next generation, often born abroad, while settling into the countries in which they live. Yet it is not only cultural traditions which are maintained: many Americans also retain their political allegiance to the US, engaging in what has been called ‘long-distance nationalism’ (Anderson 1998) or ‘homeland-oriented politics’ (Bauböck 2003; Østergaard-Nielsen 2001) as well as maintaining socio-economic connections with the US. In short, American migrants, like other migrant groups, engage in transnationalism – political, cultural and socio-economic activities which link them with their home country – while also forging and strengthening ties in their host country. Yet the focus of research on migration, integration and transnationalism has generally been on South–North migrants.

Despite newly emerging research on overseas Americans (Croucher 2009a, 2009b, 2011, 2012; Dark 2003a, 2003b; Hardwick 2010; Klekowski von Koppenfels and Costanzo 2013; Klekowski von Koppenfels 2013a; Starkweather 2008; Varro 1988), far more remains to be learned about this understudied group. For the most part, their migration, integration, identity formation and transnational activity vis-à-vis the US has not been placed in a broader Migration Studies perspective. As research on American migrants has begun to emerge, so too have the calls for further research (Croucher 2012; Hardwick 2010), and more broadly, for further research on migrants from the Global North (Gamlen 2008), while Conradson and Latham call for more research on ‘middling’ migrant groups (2005). Although Americans are, in comparison with many migrant groups, relatively privileged (cf. Croucher 2009a), many can be said to be what Conradson and Latham call ‘middling migrants’ (2005); they are not the wealthiest, and not the poorest, but ‘very much of the middle’ (269). Citing a change in the nature of migration from more classical flows, King has called for more research into migration in a way which ‘recognises its [migration’s] multifaceted diversity’ (2002: 91). My research responds to these calls for further research. Focusing on France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, countries that have been important destinations for many migrants, including Americans, my book examines the migration, integration and transnational engagement of Americans in Europe. They are part of what King calls the ‘multifaceted diversity’ of migrants today. Ultimately, by studying American migrants in Europe, this book seeks to contribute to the discussion of migration, while providing a broad examination of this relatively unknown migrant group. My research questions prevailing assumptions about overseas Americans and, in so doing, seeks to question assumptions about the migration, integration and transnational engagement of other migrant groups. It may well be that many patterns of migrant behavior are reflective more of the migrant experience, and less of a particular country or region of origin. This chapter lays out the structure and overview of the book and introduces and discusses key concepts which will be examined in subsequent chapters.

Overseas Americans – Challenging Assumptions

As is the case for many other migrant groups, the stories are larger than life, but are not reflective of the majority of the population. From Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain to Gertrude Stein and F. Scott Fitzgerald to James Baldwin and Josephine Baker to Grace Kelly, well-known Americans living overseas have captured public attention for over two centuries, with Paris holding a particular romance. However, migrant communities shift over time and a profile from a number of years ago is often not that of the current population. Faist cautions against viewing transnational communities as stable over time (2010: 28), noting that there is evolution in all communities. And, indeed, there have been changes in overseas American communities – the American Paris of the 1920s is no more, although the history remains. It should be noted, however, that there was more diversity among Americans in 1920s Paris than is often thought (Green forthcoming; Susman 1958); today’s overseas Americans are similarly diverse.

An estimated 2.2 to 7.6 million US citizens² live overseas (see Chapter 2; see also Klekowski von Koppenfels and Costanzo 2013). To date, research has largely focused on particular sub-groups, rather than seeking to identify the diversity within the population. Thus, much of the existing literature has focused on overseas Americans as intra-company transferees, or ‘corporate expatriates’ (see, among others, Benson and Pattie 2008, 2009; Black and Gregersen 1991; Bossard and Peterson 2005; Chaudhry 2013; Jun and Gentry 2005; Mendenhall and Oddou 1985; Morley et al. 2006; Tung 1998), ‘global cosmopolitans’ (Brimm 2010), ‘Global Nomads’ (Bell-Villada et al. 2011; D’Andrea 2007; McLachlan 2007; Smith 1991; Useem et al. 1962) or retiree ‘lifestyle migrants’ (Croucher 2009a; Cuba 1989; Holder 1977; Howard 2009; Migration Policy Institute 2006; Otero 1997; Sunil et al. 2007). American citizens who have grown up outside of the US have been examined as Third Culture Kids (TCKs), or individuals ‘who have spent a significant part of their developmental years outside the parents’ culture’ (Pollock and Van Reken 2009: 13), rather than as second-generation migrants (although see Sigad and Eisikovits 2010).

And, indeed, widespread images of Americans overseas remain those of tourists or students, short-term intra-company transferees, or those on ‘corporate expatriate’ packages, of individuals who have turned their backs on the US, whether for political or financial reasons, and of those who live in glamour and luxury overseas. Americans are seen as roving globetrotters or missionaries, aid workers, diplomats, civilian US Government employees or military stationed overseas (see, for instance, Alvah 2007; Cleveland et al. 1960; Sellin and Lambert 1966; Smith 1991; Winfield 1962). The romantic images of jazz clubs and literary salons in Paris in the 1920s are well-known, but portray only the most visible and colorful groups and individuals. While all of these groups of overseas Americans certainly did and do exist, even there, often only part of the story is told – Josephine Baker is well-known for her exotic banana dance, but less so for her role in both the French Resistance during World War II and in the US Civil Rights Movement. Often called an ‘expatriate’ (see Chapter 2 for a discussion of this term), Baker was a naturalized French citizen who lived in France for 50 years, and an American migrant who engaged in political transnationalism.

It is these less well-known stories of overseas Americans which remain to be told – stories of the less-visible American migrants, their integration and their continued ties with the US. A study of what is seen as an atypical group of migrants – Americans – can thus also contribute to the ongoing discussions of migration, integration and transnationalism and contribute to ‘deconstruct[ing] traditional migration dichotomies’ (King 2002: 91); patterns of migration and integration are often far more diverse than imagined. Recent research has emerged, examining different aspects of American migrants (see, among others, Christou 2006; Davis and Nencel 2011; King and Christou 2010a, 2010b; King et al. 2011; Leinonen 2011; Murray 2010), while a number of earlier works addressed Americans as well (see Bratsberg and Terrell 1996; Cleveland et al. 1960). These works each examine one particular aspect of American migrants, but a more comprehensive study of their migration, integration and transnationalism remains lacking (although see Dashefsky et al. 1992; Snel et al. 2006). This book fills that gap by providing a broader examination of American migrants in Europe, their migration trajectories, transnational engagement with the US, integration processes and negotiation of identity.

My research shows that, contrary to the popular images, overseas Americans are not uniformly wealthy temporary migrants, and they are a diverse group, varying considerably from one country to another and from one region of the world to another. While they include all of the above, they also include many residents overseas who are long-term migrants but who are less visible, and whose stories are more nuanced. For some Americans, the opportunity of international travel is an escape from a difficult family or employment situation which ultimately leads to a life abroad as a migrant. Others, such as some attorneys or some in financial services, plan their careers carefully, with a stint in London part of the career plan. There is perhaps no ‘typical overseas American’; this work focuses on those in France, Germany and the United Kingdom, and even there, clear differences can be identified and will be presented in this book. Greater differences are identifiable between retirees in Mexico, second-generation return migrants to India or Brazil, American Jews who have made aliya to Israel (olim) and others.

Migrants are usually classified into one of several categories, by scholars and government officials alike. Portes and Rumbaut draw on government categories in classifying migrants into labor migrants who, as they note, ‘correspond most closely to popular stereotypes about contemporary migrants’ (2006: 20), professional migrants, and refugees and asylees (2006). Such classifications serve the purpose of helping scholars identify and analyze particular migration and integration patterns, while governments grant different categories of migrants different visa status. While most American migrants in my study were professional migrants, also called elite migrants or highly skilled migrants, in the sense that nearly all held at least a college, or university degree, the variation among them in terms of employment, migration motivations, integration processes and identity formation is substantial.

In their study of American migrants in Israel, Australia and Canada – a group which included just over one-third with college degrees – Dashefsky et al. distinguish among olim migrating to Israel, settlers, who have become long-term migrants in their host country, often after experiencing some sense of alienation from the US, sojourners, those who seek ‘the pull of enhancement’, entrepreneurs, those on working holidays and those moving for ‘romance’, family ties or those in the US military (1992). They thus draw on more specific migration motivations as their means of classification.

Classification of American migrants as nearly uniformly highly skilled migrants or professional migrants, while perhaps technically accurate, does not, however, capture the nuance of their social interactions in the host country – one may be on short-term international assignment, another a marriage migrant (see also Leinonen 2011). While both may be highly skilled, holding one or several postgraduate degrees, the one may be an executive in a large international firm and the other may be teaching English by the hour. Neither does it capture their migration trajectories nor their integration processes, which may vary considerably. Although both are highly skilled, their experiences abroad will thus differ considerably. This book explores these nuances, also suggesting that the term ‘elite migrants’ or ‘professional migrants’ implies a stronger differentiation between the American migrants and their host countries than may, in fact, be present (see also Favell 2008: 259).

Further research will doubtless shed further light on these and other populations of Americans. Before moving into the discussion of Americans’ migration, integration and transnationalism, it is necessary here to provide a necessarily brief introduction into these concepts. Each will be examined more in depth in later chapters.

Migration

Migrants’ movement is popularly understood as being motivated by economic factors; migrants are seen as maximizing their income, or seeking employment, through movement to another country. Other explanatory factors are those such as persecution, environmental devastation or conflict, forcing individuals to flee (see Chapter 3). None of these scenarios is seen as applying to Americans, with the result that Americans are rarely seen as migrants – despite our awareness today that migrants’ motivations are far more complex and multi-causal (Castles 2010). Further, the US remains – in absolute numbers – the top migrant-receiving country in the world for those who choose to migrate in search of opportunity, as well as receiving many who flee their homes. Thus, one question that is often asked of overseas citizens of the US – the quintessential immigration country – is why they have left. Why would anyone leave a country seen as what President Ronald Reagan in 1989 called ‘the magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home’ (Calabresi 2006: 1336)? Conventional wisdom has long held that the classic nineteenth-century migration to the New World was characterized by one-way migration, a severing of ties with the home country and by integration into the US, Argentina, Canada, or elsewhere. The idea that Americans might leave this ‘shining city on the hill’, as it has been called, seems counter-intuitive. The assumption that follows on this conventional wisdom is that overseas Americans have a questionable reason for leaving the US – be it tax evasion, draft dodging or political opposition.

However, recent scholarship (Gabaccia 2007: 71; Guarnizo et al. 2003: 1215) as well as older works (Thomas and Znaniecki 1918) show that the image of permanent migration in the past is only part of the story; return migration was, even in the historic age of mass migration around the turn of the twentieth century, a component of the immigrant story. Italian return migration from the Americas was at or above 50 per cent from 1901 to 1976 (Baily 1999: 24) and was the same rate for Italians in New York City in the period 1861 to 1914 (1983: 296), while, at the outbreak of World War I, German-Americans, French-Americans and others returned home to enlist in their respective homeland armies (‘Reservists Flock …’ 1914). On the other hand, many immigrants to the US only intended to remain there for a short time before returning – but many did stay permanently (cf. Thomas and Znaniecki 1918).

This is one key point where a study of American migration can contribute to migration theory (see Chapter 3). Many overseas Americans today display similar patterns, or what I am calling ‘accidental migrants’, namely individuals who left the US for a time-limited stay, but ‘ended up staying’, often for reasons other than the ones which had initially prompted them to leave the US. Many did not intend to leave the US permanently, or even long-term, but went, among other reasons, for a period of study abroad, to conduct academic research, for short-term employment or for military service. Nor do they always make a conscious decision to stay; the opportunity of a job, meeting a new partner or wishing to improve language skills further are all factors that can play a role in the extension, and extension again, of the ‘temporary’ stay, leading to the American’s realization, many years later, that the temporary migration had become permanent. I would suggest that the same applies to numerous other migrant groups (see Chapter 3).

Transnationalism

Transnationalism, as used in Migration Studies, refers to the engagement of migrants with their home countries, whether in terms of political, socio-economic or cultural activities. It was first defined as the ‘processes by which immigrants forge and sustain multi-stranded social relations that link together their societies of origin and settlement’ (Basch et al. 1994: 7). Thus, a transnational social space was said to be created, beyond the borders of the nation-state, in which these activities took place. Transnationalism was later defined as ‘economic, political, and sociocultural occupations and activities that require regular, long-term contacts across borders for their success’ (Portes in Levitt 2001: 6), with the emphasis upon a significant commitment of time.

Since its emergence in the mid-1990s, the concept has been widely used to explore migrants’ connections maintained with their home country – political, socio-cultural and economic. Within the literature on transnationalism, a distinction has been made between transnationalism from above (e.g., Portes et al. 1999), and from below (Guarnizo 1997; Smith and Guarnizo 1998), referring to overtures from home country authorities and grassroots initiatives from the migrants themselves, respectively. This distinction is now largely viewed as somewhat artificial, given the dense intertwining of the various elements (e.g., Vertovec 2009: 3). Indeed, in the American case, which is primarily characterized by transnationalism from below, legislative and other US institutional allies have also played a key role.

Transnationalism has also been widely critiqued; Guarnizo and Smith noted as early as 1998 that its ‘sudden prominence … accompanied by its increasing ambiguity [means that it might] run the risk of becoming an empty conceptu...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Tables
• List of Figures
• Acknowledgments
• List of Abbreviations
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Profiles
• 3 The Accidental Migrant
• 4 Socio-Economic Transnationalism and Integration
• 5 Identity
• 6 Political Transnationalism and Political Engagement
• 7 Activism in Their Own Interest
• 8 Conclusion
• Appendix A: Overseas American Associations
• Appendix B: Lobbying
• Notes
• References
• Index