Browsing by Author "Dovydaitis, Emily"

Finland and Estonia form a cross-border region in Europe. Unlike other cross-border regions, which share a land border with their neighbor, Finland and Estonia are separated by the Gulf of Finland. The distance is close enough to facilitate regular travel by ferry on a weekly or monthly basis, but for Estonian immigrants living in Finland, daily commutes are unlikely. Given that Finland is the top migration destination for Estonians, the cross-border region of Estonia-Finland poses an interesting case study. In this thesis, the integration and transnationalism of Estonians living in Finland are studied through a spatial mobility lens. First, a theoretical framework is proposed to facilitate empirical research. The framework jointly examines integration and transnationalism by partitioning them into separate domains: social, structural, cultural, civic & political, identity, and spatial. The aim of the framework is to narrow the socio-spatial gap in migration literature, by focusing on the interwoven nature of the social and spatial perspectives. Using data from a comprehensive survey about Estonian immigrants living in Finland, the proposed theoretical framework is operationalized for multiple correspondence analysis (MCA). Three MCA analyses are performed: 1) social integration with host society (Finland), 2) social transnationalism with the sending society (Estonia), and 3) spatial transnationalism between the host society (Finland) and the sending society (Estonia). MCA results show that transnationalism and integration vary both across and within domains. MCA results are connected to one another using correlation analysis and general linear model (GLM) analyses. Correlation analysis and GLM demonstrate that for the study population, integration in the host society and transnationalism with the sending society are inversely associated. This inverse relationship carries over into the spatial domain and can be seen based on which country an immigrant does certain activities (e.g., visiting family, working, accessing healthcare, enjoying leisure time). Immigrants with strong social connections to the host society are more likely to do activities in Finland whereas immigrants with strong social connections to the sending society are more likely to do activities in Estonia. Some immigrants exhibit a multilocal mobility pattern, in which they do activities equally in both Estonia and Finland.