Promises and challenges of the transnational approach

The State and the Grassroots: Immigrant Transnational Organizations in Four Continents, edited by Portes and Fernandez-Kelly, is a path-breaking comparative study that theoretically elaborates and empirically documents the salient role of immigrant organizations in the advent of transnationalism. The volume provides original insight into three controversies related to the origin and practice of transnationalism, the relationship between migration and development, and the connection between transnationalism and assimilation. The volume is a significant step towards a theory of international migration that integrates the State, grassroots organizations, and migrant transnationalism in its explanation.