Scots in Hong Kong and New ZealandSojourners and Settlers, 1950-2015

Explores how contemporary Scottish migrants have adjusted to targeted migration policies, improved transportation links and communications since the 1950s

• Discusses the little-researched contemporary sojourner migrations in comparison to those of contemporary settler migrants
• While certain features of migration remain unchanged, an enduring feature of the migrant experience, adaptability, has been utilised to face the challenges of the post-1950s emigration environment
• Develops an understanding of contemporary settler and sojourning migration and destination choices and the impact of host environments on the creation and use of Scottish identity, and its deployment through social networks and Scottish associationalism in the post-colonial era
• Proposes a new hybrid form of human, cultural and social capital; ethno-cultural capital, which accrues to an individual from belonging to a particular ethnic group and which, Scottish migrants appear to be among the more adept promoters utilising an idealised apolitical national identity that includes various combinations of stereotypical Scottish markers/traits

Uses the oral testimony of migrants located in New Zealand and Hong Kong and returned sojourners in the United Kingdom, to support the conclusions drawn from surveys of a larger migrant sample.

Migration requires constant re-evaluation and compromise, and since 1950 the migration landscape has undergone significant change. Government migration policies, the end of Empire, a global migrant pool and improved transport and communication links have all played a role.

Using the oral testimony from sojourners and settlers, this book explores both forms of modern migration by comparing the changing challenges and differing experiences of Scottish migrants in New Zealand and Hong Kong. Iain Watson develops an understanding of the motivations behind contemporary settler and sojourner migration and of how different host environments and individual circumstances can impact on the way migrants use their Scottish identity to locate themselves within their destinations.