Paper Short Abstract:

The experience of the privileged mobility of diplomatic children is characterized by a transnational lifestyle involving rapid moves between countries. How does this experience shape their worldview and notions of belonging while living between different countries throughout their childhood?

Paper Abstract:

Diplomatic families enjoy a distinct form of privileged mobility that grants them convenient movement, frequent transitions between countries, and facilitated access to the host country's services. Typically stationed in foreign embassies, these diplomats, often temporarily assigned, possess exclusive rights within the host country while maintaining a status separate from citizenship. Despite residing in a place where they are neither citizens nor migrants, the unique mobility of diplomatic families remains largely unexplored in mobility studies, which predominantly focuses on labor migration, skilled migrants, and refugees. The experience of diplomatic children is particularly noteworthy, characterized by a transnational lifestyle involving rapid moves between countries throughout their formative years. These children continually navigate the challenge of constructing and abandoning lives in different places. This presentation aims to shed light on some aspects of this transnational mobility experienced by diplomatic families' children, specifically delving into topics such as homemaking, identity formation, and acculturation. The research for this presentation draws insights from interviews with current adults who were once diplomatic children, supplemented by auto-ethnography based on the author's personal experiences of being within a diplomatic family.