211 In times of globalization nation-states must be understood in the con- text of transnational and global networks (Castells 2000), and global flows of finance and of people must become part of sociological analyses (Albrow 1997; Urry 2000). 1 This has implications for the concept of class which traditionally has been framed by the nation state and national politics (Beck 2007). In particular, an increased effort is necessary for understanding the class position of persons who are embedded in more than one nation-state or who do not have access to the protection of a strong state. Those living under conditions of graduated sovereignty (Ong 1999), ethnic and racial minorities as well as migrants are situated in (several) states but also in transnational labor markets and social net- works, and this has implications for concepts of their class position. We contend that the concept of class and research on class formation should be transnational in perspective. First, the analytic focus of class is closely connected to the sphere of production, which has been and still is international and transnational. Second, while nation-states tend to frame the formation of most classes (Wallerstein 1983), a perspective which assumes that this is always so ignores the fact that the nation- state system also generates social inequality by unequally placing per- sons in center-periphery hierarchies (Shamir 2005) and by controlling the spatial autonomy of migrant populations (Weiß 2005; Struna 2009). The impact of political projects on inequality in the world can be seen in current symbolic struggles about the protection of national welfare (termed as populism by Pelfini in this book) against neoliberalism 11 Access of Highly-Skilled Migrants to Transnational Labor Markets: Is Class Formation Transcending National Divides? Anja Weiß and Samuel N.-A. Mensah Rehbein_Ch 11.indd 211 7/29/2011 6:12:05 PM PROOF