Perpetuation and transformation of the split-household strategy of labour migrants: the case of a Carpathian village

Abstract

This paper attempts to discover the factors that may be contributing to the perpetuation or transformation of the “split-household” strategy of labour migrants from the Transcarpathian region in Western Ukraine. It addresses both structural and cultural factors, contextualises current migration strategies historically, and contributes to the literature on the impact of labour migration on sending communities and family dynamics in migrant families. Looking at the case of migrants from one village, this paper demonstrates that remaining mobile is perceived by migrants as the most certain way of achieving stability in an unstable capitalist order.