Migrants’ Perception of Development and Security in Their Home Countries: The Case of Tajikistani Migrants

Abstract

This thesis studies how Tajikistani migrants perceive development and (in)security in their home country. Tajikistan is a country with a considerable number of its citizens in labor migration and high rate of remittance dependency. It is an agrarian country with over ninety percent of mountainous area and the poorest country in Central Asia. Migration plays an important role in the livelihoods of the population of the country and remittances are the means of survival for many households. Despite the importance of migration in Tajikistan, there is limited research on how the migrants, who are major actors in the process, perceive development and security in their home country, while their viewpoints are important in their involvement in the local development process and return migration. Accordingly, this thesis explored mentioned issue, the main reasons for the migrants’ perceptions, the challenges and limitations they face and the way these perceptions shape their decisions. It is a new perspective in migration studies in the context of Tajikistan. Drawing from New Economics of Labor Migration, critical theory of security and perception studies this research employed mixed-methods approach using surveys for more general results and semi-structured interviews for in-depth understanding of the issue. The results presented that the migrants hold mixed but mostly negative views on development in Tajikistan in general, but are optimist about its future. The views are mainly shaped by the poor economic situation, limited financial and employments opportunities, poor social services, corruption and nepotism in Tajikistan and comparing the conditions to those in their destination countries. About security, considering the state security and absence of threat, positive perception prevails. The understandings of the development and security shape the migrants’ decisions regarding sending remittances and return migration. As they view the development process negatively, it makes them remit regularly, but in limited amount, due to perceived absence of investment opportunities. The same is true for return decisions, which means, returning is viewed as economically impractical, but the positive view on security and place attachment keep the desire to return ultimately. This research contributes to the wider debates on migration and development through the security context and offering insights from the migrants’ life experiences. The findings from this research provides insights to develop more effective strategies to address the needs and concerns of migrants and their home communities and make migration more efficient.