Maren Klein

Maren Klein
Leaving the ‘lucky country’? Return migration trajectories between Australia and Germany

This project is located in the area of migration and mobility research. It investigates the development of migratory processes between Germany and Australia from 1952—the year the then governments of Australia and Germany signed an agreement for government-sponsored migration assistance agreement for Germans interested in immigrating to Australia—to today with a particular focus on long-term return trajectories. While Australia and Germany serve as reference points in the investigation, the longitudinal approach employed here allows for a differentiated exploration of the development of migration processes and conceptualisations of the phenomenon. It illuminates the intersection and interdependency of macro-level socio-political and economic factors and micro-level decision making processes. It traces the development of the original conceptualisations of the migration to Australia and examines incorporation processes and their developments driven by changes in Australia’s migration program and immigration policies. By focusing on long-term return and using a migrant-centred approach, the project is able to examine the development of mobility conceptualisations as one building block in the script of DYI biography in an increasingly global world. (Supervised by Bruno Mascitelli).