Migrants' Social Networks and Weak Ties: Accessing Resources and Constructing Relationships Post-Migration

Abstract

Within migration studies literature there is a tendency to assume that migrants have ready access to kin and friendship networks which facilitate the migration and settling processes. Through tight bonds of trust and reciprocity, these networks are considered to be sources of social capital, providing a counter-balance to the disadvantages that migrants may encounter in the destination society. This paper argues that more attention is needed to the ways in which migrants access, maintain and construct different types of networks, in varied social locations, with diverse people.I suggest that the often simplistic dichotomy of bonding and bridging capital needs to be re-appraised and instead offer an alternative way of thinking about these social ties. The distinction between them tends to be understood on the basis of the ethnicity of the people involved -bonding involves close ties with 'people like us' while bridging involves links beyond 'group cleavages'. Insufficient attention has been paid to the actual resources flowing between these ties or the kinds of relationship developing between the actors involved. The nature of these social networks may be better understood by focusing on the relationship between the actors, their relative social location, and their available and realisable resources. Data from a qualitative study of Polish migrants in London is used to illustrate this approach.

‘I think that Polish doctors are better’: Newly arrived migrant children and their parents׳ experiences and views of health services in Scotland

“…Migrants often talk about the difficulties they encounter in accessing networks of locals and as a result, a tendency to form ties mostly with people from their own nationality group (Li, 2013;McGhee et al, 2013). Other research highlights migrants" trust in ethnic ties, through shared language, cultural values and expectations of services and the creation of informal networks of support among diaspora groups (Son, 2013;Ryan, 2011). Anthias (2007) suggests that networks and ties need to be "mobilisable for the pursuit of advantage, or the mitigation of disadvantage " (2008: 788) in order to translate into benefits for migrants.…”

“…The value of migrants" social networks has been explored mainly in relation to social mobility (Migge and Gilmartin, 2011;Ryan, 2011) and less in relation to migrants" health. The significant changes to individuals" networks after migration, place them in often contradictory socio-cultural contexts (Thomas, 2010).…”

“…While they may be under pressure to engage in new networks and comply with expectations of health behaviours customary in their new country, their intra-ethnic ties may encourage them to retain health practices from their homeland. Research has shown that migrants" ties tend to be dynamic, changing in time and moving from mainly "bonding networks" (inter-ethnic) immediately after migration to more "bridging networks" (intra-ethnic) later on (Ryan, 2011). However, while adults have more agency in choosing the types of networks and ties which influence them, children"s choices are more constrained (Morrow, 1999).…”

Leveraging symbolic capital: the use of blat networks across transnational spaces

“…Rather than blindly seeing bonding social networks 'largely as an unmitigated good' (Edwards 2004), scholarly work has recognized the importance of dynamism across space and time within migrants' social networks (Ryan 2007) and of how social capital can have positive and negative impacts on migration processes and experiences (Edwards 2004;Ryan 2011) in the host society. Kelly and Lusis (2006) draw attention to the potential dangers new migrants face if they interact solely with co-ethnics who lack contacts in the wider host society.…”

“…Using data generated between 2012 and 2014 from a qualitative study of Eastern European migrants in the UK, we draw further attention to how migrants access, maintain and construct social networks in the host country (Ryan 2011), focusing on the flow of resources not only within social networks in the UK but also, crucially, across transnational spaces between the UK and Eastern Europe. Over the past decade, increasing numbers of 'new' migrants have arrived in the UK (Jones et al 2014) because of the rise in refugees and asylum seekers from war-torn countries (Edwards et al 2016), as well as migration from the new EU member states (Ciupijus 2011;Khattab and Fox 2016) and other European countries such as the former Soviet states of Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Moldova.…”