Working far away from home: exploring factors behind Tajik external labour migration

Abstract: International labour migration is claimed to be the dominant type of international movement of people in the modern world which is characterized by the process of globalization. Tajikistan is one of the countries for which external labour emigration is of crucial importance. Hence, this qualitative study focuses on identifying how labour migration from this country is shaped. It highlights the factors which are behind the decisions of Tajik nationals to seek employment abroad. In order to answer the research question a number of unstructured interviews with Tajik migrant workers and their direct family members were conducted. The study resulted in a structured analysis of macro-, local- and human agency factors behind the external labour emigration from Tajikistan and its sustainability as well as schematic presentation of those factors in a coherent framework. The analysis was done using the structuration model of international migration. The interdependence of various factors is discussed as well. The study suggests that the case of Tajik external labour migration is driven by a complex framework of factors. Despite the obvious importance of the economic reasons driving migration the relevance of other factors is of not less significance. The structuration model can be used in order to track how the changes within a particular factor impact other factors and the whole framework. Such approach is particularly relevant for Tajikistan within the changing context of international economic relations.