Transnational Citizenship - Transnational Citizenship V. Multiculturalism

Transnational Citizenship V. Multiculturalism

It is important to draw a distinction between transnational citizenship and multiculturalism among national citizens. While transnational citizens bring cultural and societal elements of their home countries to their host countries and vice versa, multiculturalism results from the fusion of differing ethnic minorities or indigenous peoples on a micro scale of a particular local environment. These interactions are described as "crosscutting and always mutually situational identifications." Therefore ethnic minorities and majorities alike intermingle in a mutually shared space. All different types of individuals function within the same system, and eventually collective national identities are formed . On the other hand, transnational citizens live within the context of two or more societies that differ in size, scope, populations, laws, morals, and cultural codes. While transnational citizens interact with those already present in each respective community, they are functioning within divergent spaces. They base their interactions more on the need to reconcile two completely diverse localities into a greater context that traverses international borders, politics, and ways of life.