scholarly journals Diasporas and Politics

In 2020, according to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 281 million individuals, or 3.5 percent of the world’s population, live outside their country of origin. Some of them, in addition to native-born individuals who identify with their ancestors’ country of origin, are among the members of what is commonly conceptualized as diasporas, dispersed people outside a homeland. Scholars define diasporas in multiple ways, emphasizing more dynamic conceptions or fixed belonging (Diaspora Definitions). Diasporas have gained increased importance, both in academia and among policymakers. Relevant institutional and policy changes related to diaspora politics include the fact that dual citizenship toleration has grown cross-nationally as has the number of countries that allow overseas voting. What happens after individuals choose to or are forced to exit their homeland, following Albert Hirschman’s famous conceptualization? To what extent do political and other ties matter across national boundaries (Political Transnationalism) and, in turn, how do states manage their relations with members of the national community abroad (Country of Origin’s Diaspora Engagement)? In what ways are state–diaspora relations different for authoritarian states than for liberal democracies, and are diasporas democratizers (General Works; Authoritarianism and Extraterritorial Repression)? Why do some states tolerate dual citizenship while others do not (Dual Citizenship)? Turning to other facets of relations between countries and their diasporas—in matters of homeland conflicts, do actions of diasporas increase or decrease the likelihood of conflict, and what is their role in post-conflict resolution and development (Diasporas and Conflict)? How have debates evolved since scholars across a range of disciplines established the foundations of transnationalism in the early 1990s (Political Transnationalism)? Ethnic interest groups have influenced foreign policy (Diasporas, Foreign Policy and International Relations) in both host and home states, and diasporas’ growing role in diplomacy has been reflected in the emerging subfield of diaspora diplomacy. In an effort to answer the questions posed by this diaspora activity, scholars have made a plethora of contributions in the last three decades. This article gives an up-to-date overview of the academic literature addressing the role of diasporas in political science, beginning with General Works that present an overview of the state of the field, and proceeding to address these categories of knowledge creation.

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 784-800 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Dhoest

The key role of digital and mobile media for refugees is increasingly acknowledged, but while the literature on the topic tends to celebrate the advantages of digital media, it is important to also acknowledge limitations. Thus, the focus on the creation and maintenance of connections through digital media may obscure experiences and practices of disconnection. This is certainly the case for forced migrants with non-normative sexual orientations, for whom experiences of homophobia within the family and ethno-cultural community in the country of origin may extend to fraught situations in the country of residence. As with digital media in general, it is important to consider the ‘offline’ social and cultural conditions determining online media uses. This article focuses on the specific challenges for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer refugees, both in general and in Belgium, drawing on desk research and expert interviews, as well as nine in-depth interviews with gay-identifying male refugees. While the refugees are relatively positive about the Belgian situation, they do identify a number of challenges. They use digital media to stay connected to family and other people in the country of origin, but often this connection has become difficult. Social media and dating sites also offer a way to connect to other gay men, but these connections can be equally fraught, particularly in the country of origin for danger of exposure but also in Belgium as social media transcend national boundaries. For this reason, some participants created new or parallel profiles, to keep their gay lives disconnected from their family lives. Overall, then, digital media are a tool not only of connection but also of strategic disconnection for gay refugees.


1993 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-278
Author(s):  
David M. Wilson

At a time when nationalism grows more strident, the role of national museums assumes great importance. National museums encourage not only an understanding of national identity, but also patriotism. While this is natural, it has dangers in that the museum can be used politically to endorse racial and other charged emotions. The great international museums have provided an antidote to such tendencies by providing a universal view of the culture and natural history of the world from the earliest times. Because these museums have important material from other countries they are often attacked as odious relics of colonialism. Rather they should be seen as representative of internationalism and encouraged to collect as widely as possible—within the law. They should not be pressurized into returning material to its country of origin for narrow nationalistic purposes. National museums should themselves collect outside their own national boundaries so that countries can see themselves against the background of other cultures. As nationalism grows, internationalism must be stressed in national museums so that countries may understand each others' culture and points of view.


Author(s):  
David Brundage

Following a discussion of what some scholars have seen as “divided loyalties” among immigrants, this article surveys the history of the ethnic influence on U.S. foreign policy from the 1790s to the present. Specific topics include Irish American nationalism and its relationship to republicanism and anti-imperialism in the nineteenth century, the diverse aims of ethnic activism in the era of World War I, the alleged role of ethnic activism in shaping the isolationism that partly characterized U.S. foreign policy between the wars, and the role of U.S.-based diasporas and ethnic lobbies in the era of the Cold War and after. Attention is given to Irish Americans, Jewish Americans, Cuban Americans, African Americans, Eastern Europeans, and others. The article closes with a discussion of the potential impact of the recent phenomenon of dual citizenship.


Author(s):  
Mariana Echimovich ◽  
Vitaliy Alekseevich Danilov ◽  
Zarina Fazlitdinovna Mardonova ◽  
Maxim Kirillovich Karpukhin

This article traces the evolution of foreign policy priorities of the Western Balkan countries in the context of their European and Euro-Atlantic integration over the period from the mid-1990s to 2020. The key goal lies in the analysis of formation and development of the European and Euro-Atlantic vectors in foreign policy of the Western Balkans. The relevance of the selected topic is defined by fact that all Western Balkan countries are somehow involved in the European and Euro-Atlantic integration processes, which prompts transformations in their home and foreign policy. In post-Cold War era, the Western Balkans depart from their foreign policy course, which they have followed since the end of the World War II. The conflicts that were related to dissolution of Yugoslavia underline the expansion of influence of the North Atlantic Alliance as the major “peacekeeper”, and the European Union, which took on the role of post-conflict settlement. In the under their influence. Tracing the evolution of foreign policy priorities of the Western Balkans within the framework of their European and Euro-Atlantic integration defines the scientific novelty of this research. The acquired conclusions can be implemented in theoretical and practical activity. The article explores the regional initiatives of NATO and EU, which were aimed at stabilization of the Western Balkan region through transformation of state and social institutions, development of interstate cooperation, and involvement in regional integration processes. For determination of the role of the European Union and NATO in foreign policy of the Western Balkans, the author analyzed the doctrinal documents of the Western Balkan countries, which highlighted the priority of European and Euro-Atlantic vector.


Contrary to other liberal democracies in the world, the foreign policy in US is made in a very clumsy way. The constitution of USA has put the president and congress into constant tug of war over the issue of making US’s foreign policy. Constitutionally, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the bureaucracy, the President, the Congress, media and public opinion are given special role to frame the US foreign policy. The Constitution has built a bulwark against the despotic and tyrannical tendencies against any of these stakeholders. Apart from the compulsory role of all the said departments, much space is given to some external factors like UN, International law, NATO and the special interests of other US business and strategic partners to put pressure at numerous dimensions and aspects on US foreign policy mechanism. Consequently, it is difficult to figure out the more efficient stake holders involved in foreign policy formulation process in USA


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-226
Author(s):  
Bonolo Ramadi Dinokopila ◽  
Rhoda Igweta Murangiri

This article examines the transformation of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) and discusses the implications of such transformation on the promotion and protection of human rights in Kenya. The article is an exposition of the powers of the Commission and their importance to the realisation of the Bill of Rights under the 2010 Kenyan Constitution. This is done from a normative and institutional perspective with particular emphasis on the extent to which the UN Principles Relating to the Status of National Institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles, 1993) have been complied with. The article highlights the role of national human rights commissions in transformative and/or transitional justice in post-conflict Kenya. It also explores the possible complementary relationship(s) between the KNCHR and other Article 59 Commissions for the better enforcement of the bill of rights.


Author(s):  
Jennifer J. Smith

Chapter four turns to a more intimate form of affiliation than either nation or community: family. The period from the 1970s onward has produced the greatest concentration of cycles since modernism, because writers embraced the cycle to express the contingency of being ethnic and American. Family, rather than community or time, is the dominant linking structure for many of these cycles, reflecting how immigration laws placed family and education above country of origin. This chapter focuses on the role of family in the production and reception of Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club (1989), Julie Alvarez’s How the García Girls Lost Their Accents (1991), and Jhumpa Lahiri’s Unaccustomed Earth (2008). These cycles argue that subjectivity—and by extension gender and ethnic attachments—derives not only from biological relationships but also from “formative kinship,” which originates in shared experiences that the characters choose to value.


2018 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 316-321
Author(s):  
Boris I. Ananyev ◽  
Daniil A. Parenkov

The aim of the article is to show the role of parliament in the foreign policy within the framework of the conservative school of thought. The authors examine both Russian and Western traditions of conservatism and come to the conclusion that the essential idea of “the rule of the best” has turned to be one of the basic elements of the modern legislative body per se. What’s more, parliament, according to the conservative approach, tends to be the institution that represents the real spirit of the nation and national interests. Therefore the interaction of parliaments on the international arena appears to be the form of the organic communication between nations. Parliamentary diplomacy today is the tool that has the potential to address to the number of issues that are difficult to deal with within the framework of the traditional forms of IR: international security, challenges posed by new technologies, international sanctions and other.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (11) ◽  
pp. 150
Author(s):  
Mustafa Ibrahim Salman Al - Shammari ◽  
Dhari Sarhan Hammadi Al-Hamdani

The topic area of that’s paper dealing with role of Britain in established of Israel, so the paper argued the historical developments of Palestinian question and Role of Britain Government toward peace process since 1992, and then its insight toward plan of Palestinian State. That’s paper also argued the British Policy toward Israeli violations toward Palestinians people, and increased with settlement policy by many procedures like demolition of houses, or lands confiscation, the researcher argued the Britain position toward that’s violations beside the political developments which happens in Britain after Theresa May took over the power in Ten Downing Street


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