‘Doing Siblingship’ Transnationally: Intra-Generational Kinship Among Mobile Migrant Youth Between Ghana and Germany

Abstract

This article explores how migrant-background youth ‘do siblingship’ transnationally. Transnational migration and anthropological kinship research have both emphasised the plasticity of familial ties and concrete practices involved in ‘doing family’ and ‘doing kinship’. Yet, their focus on inter-generational relationships has neglected intra-generational kinship, especially among youth in transnational contexts. Recent research shows that migrant-background youth's family constellations change throughout their mobility trajectories and that peer relationships provide crucial support and resources. Building on these insights and drawing on ethnographic data, this article analyses three dynamics of migrant-background youth's transnational siblingship between Ghana and Germany: care, comparison, and competition. The article argues that studying transnational intra-generational kinship improves our understanding of young people's resource environments and social positioning in transnational contexts and contributes to theorisations of kinship in a mobile, interconnected, and unequal world. The article concludes by outlining a research agenda to further elucidate how young people ‘do siblingship’ transnationally.