engleski

Transnation, Transnationalism, Transnationalisation: Social Sciences in Trance?

Conceptualisation of transnation starts with observation that every person with some sort of national identity outside of the "native national territory" can be counted as a member of "transnation". Some authors have built upon this notion of transnation however they never explained or described the boundaries of the term. It is obvious that the term could be relevant for the explanation of particular diasporan actions, especially if the relevance of diasporan action for wider and deeper socio-political processes in the homeland is considered. Authors are referring to substantial phenomena and socio-politically most interesting cases however, as with diaspora, the term is used for different aspects of human action. We could call the nations that do not fit or overgrow the boundaries of nation-states transnations, but we shouldn't underestimate the dangers of the tempocentric bias. Many cases of what is today called transnationalism preceded the age of nationalism and if the transborder activities among the members of the same group or the incorporation of the groups across the border into one social system decide what transnation is then it can easily be stated that some "transnations" preceded nations. Obviously we do need some additional consideration and criteria to bound the term transnation more firmly because the prefix trans refers to something that could be beyond (e.g. nation). Transnation could refer to groups which want to constitute or control the state of their own but act in such a way that they transform the boundaries of this state and by doing this they relativise and rearrange the comprehension of the territoriality and the homeland. The component sectors of these groups can include diaspora(s), ethnic minorities outside the "native" country, even irredentist groups abroad, remarkable parts of the nation within the boundaries of its state who engage in transnational activities, e.g. together with the diasporans etc.

transnation; transnationalism; diaspora

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