Methodological nationalism and neo-cosmopolitanism in migration studies

Abstract

This article examines the sociological definitions of the cosmopolitanism concept and the advantages of methodological applications of cosmopolitanism in migration studies. By defining the methodological cosmopolitanism as research that is based on individuals, who not only bind themselves nationally and / or transnationally but who also at the same time see themselves as global participants, the article states that cosmopolitanism creates an opportunity to understand not only the national / transnational bonds but also various situations, places, spaces and contents where they are understood as irrelevant. In view that mobility and transnationality are insufficient conditions in forming cosmopolitan identities, the article suggests in the migration studies to look for answers to questions such as how, when and why a mobile experience can become a form of flexible social capital and create social relationships and lives with multifaceted identities.