Ethnomoralities of care in transnational families: care intentions as a missing link between norms and arrangements

Building on the distinction between the normative and the negotiable aspects of care, we argue that to understand the social phenomenon of care, we have to analyse not only the moral norms and the care arrangements, but also the intermediary level of intentions. The article presents an ethnomorality of care model combining these three levels. The article explores the case of transnational families (TNFs) of Polish post-2004 EU enlargement migrants with still relatively young parents back in Poland. Care provision for dependent elderly members remains a future challenge in the Polish TNFs, and at this stage it is interesting to inquire plans about the future support for the elderly, especially in the light of Polish predominant (informal) family care regime. We focus on care intentions in which social actors confront moral beliefs with capabilities and construct various social accounts for not following the norm of family care.