Paper short abstract:

Questions of social inequality are central in the debate on multiculturalism. A methodological transnationalism allows for a more complex understanding of the structures and paradoxes of the social status of Ghanaians in Germany, shaped by their simultaneous incorporation in two nation states.

Paper long abstract:

<i>Methodological transnationalism</i> is a framework allowing for the description and analysis of multiple and simultaneous forms of incorporation and non-incorporation in different socio-spatial contexts and institutions within a global society without prejudging the primacy of one of them. The utility of this stance is demonstrated through a case study of transnational status inconsistency among Ghanaians in Germany. The simultaneous incorporation of migrants in different nation states results in the <i>status paradox of migration</i>: the gaining of status and prestige in Ghana is achieved by losing it in Western Europe. Migrants often can produce evidences of a middle class status in Ghana with money they earned in working class jobs in Germany. Social status and inequality are central issues in the German debate on multiculturalism. The status paradox of migration implies in this context some critical questions for the general understanding of forms of social inequality among migrants.