Rethinking transnationalism through the second generation

The concept of transnationalism was developed to describe the ties maintained by migrants with their homelands and, until recently, little attention was given to the question of whether these ties would be continued by the migrants’ children, the ‘second generation’. This article discusses the transnational practices of second‐generation Tongans in Australia, using the research findings to reconsider some of the existing assumptions about what constitutes transnationalism. To fully understand second‐generation transnationalism, three forms of transnationalism are described: intradiasporic, indirect and forced transnationalism. Taking these forms into account reveals a more complex picture of the transnational ties maintained by migrants and their children than has been drawn in previous accounts.