32 / 2010
Marina Lukšič-Hacin

Children of Diplomats in (Re)socialisation Turbulences of Migration



(Continuous) temporary employment of diplomats abroad is a form of migration. The article focuses on the population of children of diplomats and the question of the (re)socialisation processes they experience when moving abroad with their parents. The interpretative scheme of the article is based on the theory of the social construction of reality (Berger, Luckmann) and the theory of acculturation (Redfield), while employing the concept of hegemony (Althusser) and processes of stigmatisation (Goffman). Examples of turbulences discussed are: language competence, status incongruence, status of a foreigner, stigma, split personality, generational conflict, and processes of reintegration upon returning back home, bearing in mind that return in the social/cultural sense, and above all in terms of identity, is not possible.
KEYWORDS: migration, resocialisation, acculturation, diplomacy, children