• 1 Sciences Po

This paper seeks to analyze expatriation in a phenomenological perspective. It aims to question the usual analytical tools of human displacements. The deconstruction of social class, racial and national identities, allows us to highlight the emancipation of the individual from the patria. Expatriation appears like a heuristic existential notion to look differently at international migrations. This perspective unifies migratory situations beyond the implicit cleavages between tradition and modernity.