Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Most of the contributions in international relations regarding the theme diasporas have focused in defining the negative or positive influence they have on Foreign Policy decisions, regarding them either as exemplary transnational actors or as the incarnation of a 'fifth coloumn'. Few authors question the term itself, and most of those who have tried usually fell into the false hope of defining it as a 'social form' through various numbers of characteristics. Most of these approaches take an essentialist stance and are unable to seize the processes, the discourses and social practices that are behind the word. We will argue that diaspora has to be understood as a signifier, a political motto, that serves particular causes in particular times and places. Diaspora is not malign or benign, diaspora is a word to do things, a speech act at the national, transnational or international level. Studying diaspora in international politics should therefore be the study of who says diaspora and the reasons why.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Diaspora involvement in civil war has been attracting increasing interest in political and social sciences. Especially in the literature on ?new wars? and on the ?economy of war? authors mention the diaspora as an influential actor. In this literature the diaspora is seen as a resource for armed groups and in this function as a prolonging factor of civil wars. Yet the existing literature also shows lacunae: the inner dynamic of the relation between diasporas and armed groups has hardly been addressed. Yet, it is the knowledge on mechanisms on the micropolitical level which is needed for all political efforts to end civil wars with diaspora involvement. The following paper seeks to provide answers to the question of how and under which circumstances a mobilization of the diaspora by armed groups is possible. The focal point of the analysis is on the financial side of the relationship. Drawing on theories of mobilization from social movement scholarship the presentation will highlight central mechanisms and structures of the mobilization process.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Theoretical studies on the impact of diasporas on political conflict in the home country are still scarce. Only recently did scholars (Adamson 2005, Lyons 2005, Fair 2005, Shain 2002, Scheffer 2003, Rudolph 2003, Moore 2002, Saideman 2001, King and Melvin 2000) start theorizing about the security implications of diaspora politics. Their approaches considerably vary from ethnic lobbying in foreign policy, through the impact of affinitive ties, diaspora institutions and transnational networks on domestic politics. Many of these studies explore the impact of diasporas on political conflict in general or on a violent phase in particular. My paper will concentrate on the impact of diasporas during a phase of post-conflict transformation. On its part, the evolving literature related to this phase is dominated by economic and developmental approaches on the role of diaspora remittances. My paper instead focuses on identifying causal relationships between diasporas and homeland politics. This paper argues that conflict-driven diasporas contribute to the moderation of political conflict in the home country when: 1) They withdraw from active involvement after civil war while earlier they were strongly involved in the internal warfare. This usually happens in the first several years after a comprehensive peace agreement due to the diaspora exhaustion and inability to enter domestic politics with foreign presence providing security in the homeland. 2) Diasporas accept that the achievement of state sovereignty is more likely to occur by pursuing non-violent rather than violent means. The paper uses the process-tracing method and tests these propositions on the cases of the Lebanese and Albanian/Kosovo diasporas and their impact on the post-conflict transformation of Lebanon (1990-2005) and Kosovo (1999-2006). As the empirical literature on these two cases is very scarce, this work - beyond primarily focused on theorizing - additionally contributes to the accumulation of new empirical knowledge.

Publication Type: Invited Paper
Abstract: Ideas for a federation among all, or most, of the British Caribbean colonies stretched from the seventeenth through twentieth centuries. Before the twentieth century, many of the calls for federation (or other forms of closer association) emanated from the Colonial Office which sought to reorganize the various colonial governments for administrative and economic efficiency. Other proposals derived from the merchant and planter oligarchy who sought to increase their financial prowess. While such support continued into the twentieth century, the idea of federation also became a cornerstone of West Indian nationalism, especially amongst the vast Black and Coloured majorities in the British Caribbean who sought to build a West Indian nation. However, the idea of a Caribbean Federation was not solely a national (or regional) issue within the boundaries of the British Empire. Indeed, much support for the idea came from the broader Black Diaspora.

Utilizing a range of archival and organizational materials, this paper explores support for a West Indian nation, via Caribbean Federation, among the Black populations in the United Kingdom from the mid-1930s through the onset of the actual West Indies Federation in 1958. By focusing on West Indian organizations abroad (such as the West Indian Student Union), race-based organizations (such as the League of Coloured Peoples), and various burgeoning Pan-African organizations centered in London, this study investigates the numerous conceptualizations of a Caribbean federation, particularly its role as an often-overlooked goal within the far-reaching and varied “Politics of the Black Diaspora”.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper conceptualizes diaspora identity politics as a particular category of transnational social movements. Drawing on the literatures on social movements and contentious politics, the paper argues against primordial conceptions of diasporas as transnational ethnic groups and instead focuses on the flexible and strategic deployment of ideologies and identity categories in diasporic politics. The literature on diasporas is compared with literatures on transnationalism and migration. A framework for understanding diasporic politics is proposed that integrates diasporic movements with other forms of transnationalism based on the extent to which movement entrepreneurs are deploying a more particularistic identity or universalizing ideology. Examples are given from transnational nationalist, leftist and religious movements.