Diasporas In World Politics

This book is intended to fill in a gap in the study of modern ethno-national diasporas. Thus, against the background of current trends - globalization, democratization, the weakening of the nation-state and massive transstate migration, it examines the politics of historical, modern and incipient ethno-national diasporas. It argues that unlike the widely accepted view, ethno-national diasporism and diasporas do not constitute a recent phenomenon. Rather, this is a perennial phenomenon whose roots were in antiquity. Some of the existing diasporas were created in antiquity, some during the Middle Ages and some are modern. An essential aspect of this phenomenon is the endless cultural-social-economic and especially political struggle of these dispersed ethnic groups that permanently reside in host countries away from their homelands to maintain their distinctive identities and connections with their homelands and other dispersed groups of the same nation. While describing and analyzing the diaspora phenomenon, the book sheds light on theoretical questions pertaining to current ethnicity and politics.

This book analyzes how states extend their sovereignty beyond their territories through the language of diasporas. An increasing number of states are interested in supporting, managing or controlling their populations abroad, something they define as their ‘diaspora’. Yet what does it mean for governments to formulate claims of sovereignty over populations who reside outside the very borders that legitimate them? This book argues that ‘diaspora’ should be understood as a performative discourse that enables transnational political practices that could otherwise not be justified in a normative structure of world politics, dominated by the imperatives of territorial sovereignty. The empirical analysis focuses on the former Yugoslavia and contemporary Croatia. The first part of the book examines the history of the relations between Croats abroad and their homeland, from the emergence of the question of emigration as a problem of government in the late nineteenth century until the years preceding the formation of the contemporary Croatian state. The second part explores how, in the 1990s, the merging of bureaucratic categories and state practices into the category of ‘diaspora’ was instrumental in mobilizing Croats abroad during the 1991-1995 war; in reshuffling the balance between Serbs and Croats in the citizenry; and in the de facto annexation of parts of neighboring Bosnia-Herzegovina in the immediate aftermath of the war. This book will be of much interest to students of critical security studies, international political sociology, diaspora studies, border studies, and International Relations in general.

More than ever, diasporas have a direct impact on the politics of their homelands. Today's diasporic activists-empowered by new media and the ease of travel afforded by globalization-engage directly to shape elections and conflicts in distant settings: politics from afar. Drawing on a global range of cases, this groundbreaking volume explores the impact of transnational diaspora politics on development, democratization, conflict, and the changing nature of citizenship. The contributors to this collection, representing a variety of disciplinary perspectives and area studies expertise, reveal the diasporic politics shaping the governance of development in Mexico, conflict in Sri Lanka, and elections in Ethiopia among other timely cases. While some predicted that globalization would usher in a new era of cosmopolitanism, Politics from Afar demonstrates that ethno-nationalism and patron-client relationships are alive and thriving in transnational spaces. Cognizant of the political capital residing in diasporas, homeland governments, opposition political parties, and insurgent groups seek to tap theirA" co-nationals abroad to advance development strategies and broader geopolitical agendas. Politics from Afar maps an ambitious theoretical and empirical agenda for the analysis of contemporary diaspora politics.

Global politics has transformed in recent years due to a rise in nationalist ideology, the breakdown of multiple societies, and even nation-state legitimacy. The nation-state, arguably, has been in question for much of the digital age, as citizens become transnational and claim loyalty to many different groups, causes, and in some cases, states. Thus, politics that accompany diasporic communities have become increasingly important focal points of comparative and political science research. Global Diaspora Politics and Social Movements: Emerging Research and Opportunities provides innovative insights into the dispersion of political and social groups across the world through various research methods such as case studies. This publication examines migration politics, security policy, and social movements. It is designed for academicians, policymakers, government officials, researchers, and students, and covers topics centered on the distribution of social groups and political groups.

The Microfoundations of Diaspora Politics examines the various actors within and beyond the state that participate in the design and implementation of diaspora policies, as well as the mechanisms through which diasporas are constructed by governments, political parties, diaspora entrepreneurs, or international organisations. Extant theories are often hard-pressed to capture the empirical variation and often end up identifying ‘exceptions’. The multidisciplinary group of contributors in this book theorise these ‘exceptions’ through three interrelated conceptual moves: first, by focusing on understudied aspects of the relationships between states as well as organised non-state actors and their citizens or co-ethnics abroad (or at home - in cases of return migration). Second, by examining dyads of ‘origin’ states and specific diasporic communities differentiated by time of emigration, place of residence, socio-economic status, migratory status, generation, or skills. Third, by considering migration in its multiple spatial and temporal phases (emigration, immigration, transit, return) and how they intersect to constitute diasporic identities and policies. These conceptual moves facilitate comparative research and help scholars identify the mechanisms connecting structural variables with specific policies by states (and other actors) as well as responses by the relevant diasporic communities. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.

The involvement of non-state actors in world politics can hardly be characterised as novel, but intensifying economic and social exchange and the emergence of new modes of international governance have given them much greater visibility and, many would argue, a more central role. Non-state Actors in World Politics offers analyses of a diverse range of economic, social, legal (and illegal), old and new actors, such as the Catholic Church, trade unions, diasporas, religious movements, transnational corporations and organised crime.

"A joint publication of the Social Science Research Council and New York University Press."