The local politics of transnational cooperation on development(s) and migration in Spanish cities: paper presented at the conference on 'Transnationalisation and Development(s): Towards a North-South Perspective', Center for Interdisciplinary Research, Bielefeld, Germany, May 31 - June 01, 2007

Abstract

"This paper deals with the local politics of transnational development cooperation and codevelopment in Spain. Since only a few years migrant organizations and local authorities started to engage in development cooperation in a more structured and institutionalized way. Local authorities provide specific funding for migrant organizations projects in this sense, and migrant organizations to a growing degree are willing and able to apply for them. In the context of the (re)discovery of the migration-development-nexus, migrants and migrant organizations are being identified as agents of development. There are conceived of as ideal partners and actors in the overcoming of 'under-development' in their countries of origin, which they once had left in need of at least personally overcoming the difficult economic, social and political situations often existing there. On that background, migrant organizations often not only engage in projects concerning their situation where they reside, but also up hold strong ties to their countries and localities of origin. They support their families and towns by financial means, know-how, political engagement and other manifold activities. Some - obviously to a growing degree - carry out projects in the realm of development cooperation investing in infrastructure, school and other educational activities, nutrition, capacity building etc. Increasingly, sub-national levels of governance are engaging in the promotion of transnational relations and ties of migrants between their sites of residence and origin. Most evidence in sociological and political sciences research is provided by Mexican regional and local governments' policies towards their co-citizens residing in the United States. Scholars observe a wide range of measures directed to the promotion especially of migrants´ loyalties and financial contributions. But whereas these transnational politics have been investigated from the side of the emigration countries and localities, research on the side of the immigration country does hardly exist. This paper focuses on the processes on the side of the localities where the migrants live. It explores the activities of the migrant organizations and the local authorities in two Spanish cities, Madrid and Barcelona. And it puts a special focuses on their interaction since for both parts these transnational projects are of very recent nature. By doing so, the paper makes a contribution to the new local engagement in migration and development emerging in Europe and discusses its meanings." (author's abstract)