Leiden University Student Repository

Nündel, Emma Elisabeth (2021)

Rural-Urban Migrants' Aspirations in Contemporary Windhoek: A Namibian Case Study

Bachelor thesis | International Studies (BA)

In light of the emerging emphasis within migration studies on how aspirations inform migration trajectories and the integration prospects of migrants, this paper examines how rural-urban migrants’ aspirations relate to integration in contemporary Windhoek, Namibia. The aspirations of five male rural-urban migrants in Windhoek are discussed in semistructured qualitative interviews. Through the application of Paolo Boccagni’s categorization of migrant aspirations into ‘contents,’ ‘relational references,’ and ‘space-time horizons,’ and following the definition of ‘societal integration’ as used by Richard Bränström et al., this paper finds that a significant aspect of Namibian rural-urban migrants’ aspirations is the wish for societal integration. These findings indicate that it is valid to consider issues of integration as relevant for rural-urban migrants in Namibia, and that studying their aspirations can make the identification of different approaches for fostering societal...Show moreIn light of the emerging emphasis within migration studies on how aspirations inform migration trajectories and the integration prospects of migrants, this paper examines how rural-urban migrants’ aspirations relate to integration in contemporary Windhoek, Namibia. The aspirations of five male rural-urban migrants in Windhoek are discussed in semistructured qualitative interviews. Through the application of Paolo Boccagni’s categorization of migrant aspirations into ‘contents,’ ‘relational references,’ and ‘space-time horizons,’ and following the definition of ‘societal integration’ as used by Richard Bränström et al., this paper finds that a significant aspect of Namibian rural-urban migrants’ aspirations is the wish for societal integration. These findings indicate that it is valid to consider issues of integration as relevant for rural-urban migrants in Namibia, and that studying their aspirations can make the identification of different approaches for fostering societal integration possible.Show less

Rural-urban migration

Windhoek

Namibia

Societal integration

Aspirations

Author

Nündel, Emma Elisabeth

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Africa

Supervisors

Williams, C.L.

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en