The best of two worlds? How residence-country contexts affect migrants’ origin-country political engagement

Abstract

This article examines how migrants’ experiences in their country of residence shape their political engagement with their country of origin. Using survey data from Belgian, Finnish, and Polish non-resident citizens living in 134 countries, the study tests two competing hypotheses: the zero-sum hypothesis, which posits that greater engagement in residence-country politics diminishes engagement with the country of origin, and the positive reinforcement hypothesis, which suggests that political engagement in the country of residence strengthens origin-country engagement. The findings are consistent with positive reinforcement and do not support the existence of a zero-sum relationship. The analysis shows that voting in residence-country elections is strongly associated with voting in the country of origin; also, those ineligible to vote in their country of residence are more likely to vote in origin-country elections. Trust in residence-country political institutions is positively linked to voting in the country of origin among Finnish and Polish migrants, but not among Belgians. No direct relationship is found between residence-country engagement and attentiveness to origin-country politics. Overall, the findings highlight the cumulative nature of political participation and suggest that transnational political engagement is jointly shaped by institutional arrangements and individual experiences across contexts.