International Relations

The article aims to outline the relations between
sustainability of the return and motivation for return,
reintegration and circularity through the prism
of the subjective perceptions and perspectives of
people returning to Bulgaria. The empirical data
from a carried out qualitative study show a relation
between the nature of the motivation for return and
the successful social and economic integration, on
one hand, and the sustainability of the return, on the
other. Data confirm – with some reservations – the
hypotheses that: first, sustainability of the return is
greater when the motivation of the return is more
related to the emotional reflexivity of the migrant;
second, circular migration and re-emigration are
in reverse dependence on the successful economic
reintegration after the return. These hypotheses are
based and logically related to the assumptions and
understandings of the social network theory and the
transnationalism as theoretical paradigms to the return
migration.
Key words: return migration; re-emigration;
sustainability of return; motives for return
JEL: А13; F22; J61; O15; Z1

The article addresses one of the most intriguing questions in current migration
researches: what drives return migration? It seeks at a micro level to find out what
motivates the return in terms of the individual perceptions and reflexions of migrants
returning to Bulgaria. The initial hypothesis is that non-economic factors have been
the leading ones that have prompted the Bulgarian citizens to return to their
homeland over the last decade. The underlying assumption is that the return to
Bulgaria is not a failure of individual migration, but should be regarded in terms of
the concept of emotional reflexivity and can be examined within the theoretical
paradigm of transnationalism. The hypothesis is tested against qualitative and
quantitative data from a 2017 national survey and 100 in-depth interviews with
Bulgarian returnees. The text is organized in several parts. Following the
introduction, in the second part methodological aspects of the two surveys are
presented. Next part presents different theoretical paradigms of return migration and
distinguishes between economic and non-economic factors of return, and between
rationality and emotionality of the motivation. The concept of emotional reflexivity is
introduced as an explanatory frame for non-economic emotional motivation for
return. In the third part is the analysis of the qualitative sociological data on the
returnees’ motivation, illustrated by quotations from the in-depth interviews. A
comparison is made between qualitative and quantitative data on the motivation and
reasons for return. The analysis confirms the initial hypothesis. We conclude that the
„return“ of Bulgarian migrants to Bulgaria cannot be comprehended without taking
into account the factors related to life cycle and the relationship with home and
family, as well as motives related to migrants’ emotional reflexivity. The prevailing
non-economic emotional and reflective motives for return to Bulgaria carry important
implications and opportunities with regard to the development of effective policies
and initiatives to encourage and support return.