ABSTRACT
Transnational ties to one's country of origin are generally assumed to be of less importance to the offspring of immigrants, since most second-generation youngsters have spent their entire lives in the destination country and only visited the country of origin for relatively restricted periods of time. Compared to the immigrant generation, the social ties of the second generation are probably located to a much greater degree within the destination country, while transnational ties with family, kin, and friends in the country of origin might easily narrow down to only a few contacts. Social networks of the second generation are likely to be located for the main part in the destination country with only minor extensitys back to the country of origin. This assumption also seems to hold for many secondgeneration Turks in Germany. Various factors, like for example the long distance to Turkey, having grown up largely in Germany, and a dense social network of family, friends, colleagues and others who live in Germany, contribute to a declining importance of transnational ties. Nevertheless, there are also indications of the existence of relatively strong transnational ties in the second generation. One such indication is the incidence of transnational marriages with partners who lived in Turkey prior to marriage.
