Diaspora politics

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Diaspora politics is the political behavior of transnational ethnic diasporas, their relationship with their ethnic homelands and their host states, and their prominent role in ethnic conflicts. [1] The study of diaspora politics is part of the broader field of diaspora studies.

To understand a diaspora's politics, one must first understand its historical context and attachments. [2] A diaspora is a transnational community that defined itself as a singular ethnic group based upon its shared identity. Diasporas result from historical emigration from an original homeland. In modern cases, this migration can be historically documented, and the diaspora associated with a certain territory. Whether this territory is in fact the homeland of a specific ethnic group, is a political matter. The older the migration, the less evidence there is for the event: in the case of the Romani people the migration, the homeland, and the migration route have not yet been accurately determined. A claim to a homeland always has political connotations and is often disputed.

Self-identified diasporas place great importance on their homeland, because of their ethnic and cultural association with it, especially if it has been 'lost' or 'conquered'. That has led ethnic nationalist movements within several diasporas,[ example needed ] often resulting in the establishment of a sovereign homeland. However, even when they are established, it is rare for the complete diaspora population to return to the homeland, and the remaining diaspora community typically retains significant emotional attachment to the homeland, and the co-ethnic population there.

Ethnic diaspora communities are now recognized by scholars as "inevitable" and "endemic" features of the international system, writes Yossi Shain and Tamara Cofman Wittes, [1] for the following reasons:

  1. First, within each of a diaspora's host states, resident members can organize domestically to maximize their political clout.
  2. Second, a diaspora can exert significant pressure in its homeland's domestic political arena regarding issues of diaspora concern.
  3. Lately, a diaspora's transnational community can engage directly with third-party states and international organizations, in effect bypassing its homeland and host state governments.

Diasporas are thus perceived as transnational political entities, operating on "behalf of their entire people" and capable of acting independently from any individual state (their homeland or their host states).

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yossi Shain</span>

Yossi Shain was a member of the Knesset for Yisrael Beiteinu. He is also the Romulo Betancourt Professor of Political Science at Tel Aviv University where he also serves as head of TAU's School of Political Science, Government and International Affairs, head of the Abba Eban Graduate Studies Program in Diplomacy and director of the Frances Brody Institute for Applied Diplomacy. He is also a full professor of comparative government and diaspora politics at Georgetown University, and the founding director of the Program for Jewish Civilization (PJC) at Georgetown. In 2007, he also served (pro-bono) as president of Western Galilee College. Shain earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Tel Aviv University and received his Ph.D. in political science from Yale University in 1988. In July 2016 Professor Shain was appointed as a member of Council for Higher Education in Israel, and he is now heading the national committee in charge in rejuvenating liberal arts and the humanities.

Diaspora politics in the United States is the political behavior of transnational diasporas of ethnic groups, their relationship with their ethnic homelands and their host states, as well as their role in inter-ethnic relations. This article describes case studies and theories of political scientists studying diaspora politics within the specific context of the United States. The general study of diaspora politics is part of the broader field of diaspora studies.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">New diaspora</span>

A neo/new diaspora is the displacement, migration, and dispersion of individuals away from their homelands by forces such as globalization, neoliberalism, and imperialism. Such forces create economic, social, political, and cultural difficulties for individuals in their homeland that forces them to displace and migrate.

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Jorge Duany is a theorist on Caribbean transnational migration and nationalism. Between 2012 and 2024, he was director of the Cuban Research Institute and professor of anthropology at Florida International University, and has held various teaching positions across the United States and Puerto Rico. His research focuses on concepts of nationalism, ethnicity, race, transnationalism, and migration within the Spanish Caribbean and between the Spanish Caribbean and the United States, particularly regarding Cuba and Puerto Rico.

References

  1. 1 2 Shain, Yossi & Tamara Cofman Wittes. Peace as a Three-Level Game: The Role of Diasporas in Conflict Resolution in Ambrosio, Thomas. 2002. "Ethnic identity groups and U.S. foreign policy." Praeger Publishers. ISBN   0-275-97533-9
  2. Ambrosio, Thomas. 2002."Ethnic identity groups and U.S. foreign policy." Praeger Publishers. ISBN   0-275-97533-9