(Page 2 of 26) - Homeland Interests in Hostland Politics:Politicized Ethnic Identity among Middle Eastern Heritage Groups in the United States authored by Wald, Kenneth.

In an age when diasporas are increasingly recognized as influential actors in transnational

politics (see, e.g., Davis and Moore 1997), why do some ethnonational communities cohere
tightly around homeland political interests while others do not? Despite its importance, the
question has been subject to very little analysis. Shain and Barth (2003) classify diaspora
members as core, passive, or silent, recognizing variability in homeland political salience across
individuals, but do not account for it. Sheffer (2003) also acknowledges that diaspora attachment
depends on the strength of individuals’ ethnic identity but similarly does not assess the
determinants of such choices. Until we determine empirically what accounts for differential
attachment to the political needs of the homeland by overseas diasporas, scholars will not
understand the manifest differences in the mobilizing potential of different diaspora
communities.

This paper begins to fill the gap by comparing the level of politicized ethnic identity

displayed by three ethnonational groups in the United States: Arab-American Christians, Arab-
American Muslims and American Jews. While all three ethnic communities have a putative stake
in American Middle East policy, the study explores differences within and across the three
groups in the disposition to make homeland concerns central to their own political agenda.
Through empirical analysis of survey data, it assesses the readiness of the groups to mobilize
politically in the United States on behalf of homeland needs and interests.

After first locating this study in the context of previous research on diaspora political

behavior, the paper discusses the nature and sources of politicized ethnic identity. That concept
refers to the disposition of ethnic communities to factor homeland considerations into political
behavior in the host society. I offer a preliminary theory about aspects of the diaspora experience
that may either encourage or inhibit the development of a political consciousness devoted to
homeland concerns. After characterizing the three cases in terms of the theory, the paper reports
empirical tests of hypotheses about ethnic group behavior.

Ethnonational Diasporas as Political Actors

Ethnic group participation in American foreign policy, once considered a baleful

influence on decision-making (Gerson 1994), has increasingly been recognized as an inevitable
part of the policy-making process (Smith 2000, Shain 1999). While negative characterizations
still appear in print (Huntington 1997), this more dispassionate literature focuses on the different
ways that ethnonational diasporas attempt to guide American policy toward their country of
origin.

Although this is hardly the first study of diaspora political involvement, it differs in two

major respects from prior research. First, this project approaches diaspora politics from the
perspective of mass political behavior rather than interest group politics. Most theories about
diaspora influence on American policy are rooted in assumptions about the elite nature of the
foreign policy process. Because diaspora group effectiveness is thought to depend largely on
access to key elites who dominate the policy-making apparatus, scholars who work from this
perspective typically emphasize the role of organization, information, social networks, and other
tangible resources that matter in the world of “insider” politics (Shain and Barth 2003, 461-2;
Smith 2000, ch. 3).

While that focus is certainly appropriate and necessary to understand short-

term policy changes, the ultimate influence of any diaspora, like interest groups generally