Between cosmopolitanism and parochialism: return migration of early-career Israeli academics

Abstract

Mobile academics have traditionally been conceived as cosmopolitan subjects who favor cultural diversity and search for new professional opportunities abroad. Their return to the homeland could therefore be interpreted as a sign of parochialism, which narrows down their professional opportunities and limits their exposure to global resources. In this article, we compare returning and non-returning academics with respect to their parochial and/or cosmopolitan tendencies. Drawing on a sample of 223 Israeli Early-Career Researchers (ECRs), we examine their cosmopolitan—or otherwise parochial—propensities and assess the effect they have on their return decisions. We use statistical tests to analyze the effects of cultural orientation, attachment to the homeland-based national community, and patriotic feelings on their propensity to return. Our findings suggest that in comparison with their co-nationals who opted to remain abroad, returning ECRs exhibit higher levels of parochialism, reflected through inter alia stronger communal dispositions and patriotic attachment as well as geographically limited job search.