Engaging with Three Predicaments of Transnational Migration Research in the Postcolonial Condition

The paradigm of transnationalism has been featured prominently in research agendas in migration and refugee studies for quite some time. The popularity of transnationalism can be explained by its perceived ability to offer solutions to some of the epistemic problems and analytical limitations of migration research. Yet, the paradigm of transnationalism has also been subjected to critiques, many of which are inspired by postcolonial and decolonial approaches. This special issue is an outcome of a workshop organized in 2022 in Duisburg, Germany. During two days of discussions, we defined a list of challenges – what we refer to as ‘predicaments’ – that we encountered during the research practice. These predicaments do not exist in a vacuum, but as the contributions to this special issue (SI) show, they are interlinked. We are thus not primarily concerned with altering conditions of transnational migration but rather focus on methodological and epistemological challenges that we faced while conducting transnational migration research in the current postcolonial condition(s). This SI focuses on three such predicaments, namely asymmetrical power relations and positionalities between a researcher and the researched, the persistence of conceptual frames and methodologies shaped by the ‘national order of things’ () and the ‘destination country biases’ (;<br/><br/>) that are coupled with a research funding structure dominated by institutions in the Global North (read Europe, North America and, Australia).<br/><br/>Before engaging with these three predicaments, we briefly review the discussion around transnational migration research, including some of the critiques that have been directed against it.