Are There New Paradigms in Migration Studies?

Although Kuhn’s use of “paradigm” as a term and concept lack precision and leave ample space for interpretation, the concept of paradigm gained popularity in social sciences after publication of Kuhn’s influential book. Since then “paradigms” have been applied to various disciplines, often including misinterpretations of the term and disregarding implications of Kuhn’s theory of scientific revolutions. The aim is to review Kuhn’s definition(s) of paradigms and examples of its applications to sociology. The second aim is to apply the concept of paradigms to the field of migration studies and discuss possible paradigm candidates: transnationalism and “new mobilities paradigm” (Sheller and Urry, 2006). Even though they lack paradigmatic strength, both candidates counter prevailing methodological -isms as sources of bias in social sciences: “methodological nationalism” and different forms of “essentialism” in the case of “transnational paradigm”, and static and sedentarist perceptions of social life in the case of “mobilities paradigm”. At the same time, both transnationalism and mobilities paradigm leave blind spots behind, like any other “paradigm” or a candidate for one.