This dissertation analyzes the political impact of international return migration in China in the last century. Pioneering studies in migration indicate that immigrants of host country impact their home country’s domestic politics. This study goes further by arguing that the returned migrants affect their home country’s domestic politics much more than those living overseas, as they are on the ground. They intensively participate in their home country’s domestic political development, both in political institutions and culture. They deeply affected home country’s domestic politics and became a source of political change. Moreover, by building a model of return migrant’ political impact on home country, this study depicts and explains the political impact of returned migrants and how the...[ Read more ]

This dissertation analyzes the political impact of international return migration in China in the last century. Pioneering studies in migration indicate that immigrants of host country impact their home country’s domestic politics. This study goes further by arguing that the returned migrants affect their home country’s domestic politics much more than those living overseas, as they are on the ground. They intensively participate in their home country’s domestic political development, both in political institutions and culture. They deeply affected home country’s domestic politics and became a source of political change. Moreover, by building a model of return migrant’ political impact on home country, this study depicts and explains the political impact of returned migrants and how they contributed to domestic politics.

This thesis adopts both qualitative and quantitative research methods in the analysis. On the macro level, I compare the different waves of return migration and their political impact on Chinese politics to construct an explanation of the political impact over years. On the micro-level, I also use quantitative research methods to confirm the impacts of overseas experience on individual’s political mobility and attitudes.