Within care studies, the transnationalization of care has been mainly understood as drawing on (female) migrant care workers and resulting in a ‘care gap’ in the places such workers leave behind. This project looks at the reverse phenomenon: care relocation, in which the ageing body is relocated to places where care is more affordable. This small but contested trend, described as ‘grandmother deportation’ or ‘geriatric colonialism’, can be seen as emblematic of the marketization of care, and entangling welfare states as entitlements are carried across national borders within Europe.
Most of the care homes are located in regions characterized by a long German and Habsburg-Hungarian history, adding historical complexity to the story. Some serve only German-speaking patients, others serve local, wealthier elderly people as well. They are run by former migrant care workers and by international companies, bringing labour migration and real estate investment into the picture. ReloCare breaks new ground by encompassing all these different aspect in one study.
In perceiving care relocation as both part of future making and a response to the privatization and marketisation of care landscapes in the region, it asks what it means to become old and in need of care in an increasingly intertwined Europe.
The project will result in non-academic reports translated into five languages (target audiences: policy makers and politicians, insurances, entrepreneurs, care workers, municipalities, families, elderly), two PhD dissertations, articles in peer-reviewed academic journals, a peer reviewed special issue, and an international workshop.
