Going against the grain: return mobilities and rural transformation in coastal Bangladesh

Return mobilities are often conceptualised as an economic necessity or a failed migration outcome. However, in climate-vulnerable regions such as coastal Bangladesh, return mobilities emerge as an active process of adaptation shaped by intersecting socio-economic, political and environmental dynamics. This study explores return mobilities in two coastal villages in Bangladesh, examining how water politics, translocal ties and livelihood opportunities shape reintegration. Return mobilities emerge not as a reversal of movement but as a strategic adaptation process in which returnees reclaim agricultural livelihoods, negotiate water access and engage in climate-resilient practices. While political control over water access and shrimp farming dominance constrains reintegration in Padmapukur village, returnees in Angtihara actively shape local development trajectories. By framing return as a dynamic process, this paper challenges static understandings of mobility and contributes to broader debates on migration, environmental change and rural transformation.