Editorial Introduction: Exploring Return Migration and its Transformative Potential in Romania and Beyond

Abstract

International migration -social change nexus1International migration is widely regarded as one of the most pivotal social processes in contemporary times. The substantial surge in migration volumes, migration patterns, and the evolving nature of these flows over the past decades have spurred extensive academic discourse. A significant portion of this substantial body of literature primarily centers on emigration dynamics and the integration of migrants within destination countries (King 2018; Portes and Rumbaut, 2014).However, there is an increasing acknowledgment within academic circles of the importance of migrants' origins, a shift partially attributed to the migration-development discourse that has gained prominence in recent decades. Additionally, a growing body of scholarship aims to grasp the multiple way in which migration is part and parcel of wider societal transformations thereby broadening the scope of academic inquiry to encompass migrants' origin contexts (Schiller and Faist, 2010). Social changeExisting literature widely acknowledges the intricate interconnection between migration and societal transformation. Despite years of research on these topics, the potential impacts of international migration on countries of origin