Analyzing the role and impact of Diaspora Organizations (DOs) in International Relations (IR), this interdisciplinary volume provides empirical accounts of their work across Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Middle East. Over the last three decades, DOs have increased in number, spread to new regions, and addressed an ever-widening array of global problems, yet they have not received sufficient attention in IR in spite of the inter- and transnational nature of their involvements. Contributions explore important topics such as: The role of DOs in cooperation and conflict and in change and stability; DOs as transnational organizations and their degree of autonomy and power within the networks in which they operate; and The changing roles of DOs vis-à-vis states, regimes, and international organizations, when dealing with issues as diverse as peace, conflict, migration, integration, development, humanitarian action, human rights, religion, and economic growth. Demonstrating how IR can benefit from a stronger focus on DOs, this book will also help other disciplines gain insights into DOs and will prove useful to those in the fields of international relations, sociology, geography and anthropology.

A major study of the vast--but until now unappreciated--influence of kinship and diaspora on international politics

This volume charts the rapid rise of various forms of diaspora institutions, across distinct historical phases and geographical regions, explaining the way that evolving models and best practices of international migration management have increasingly changed the way states see their diasporas and reconfigured the rules of international politics.

The Routledge International Handbook of Diaspora Diplomacy is a multidisciplinary collection of writings by leading scholars and practitioners from around the world. It reflects on the geopolitical and technological shifts that have led to the global emergence of this form of diplomacy and provides detailed examples of how governments, intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and corporations are engaging diasporas as transnational agents of intervention and change. The organization in six thematic parts provides for focused coverage of key issues, sectors and practices, while also building a comprehensive guide to the growing field. Each section features an introduction authored by the Editor, designed to provide useful contextual information and to highlight linkages between the chapters. Cross-disciplinary research and commentary is a key feature of the Handbook, providing diverse yet overlapping perspectives on diaspora diplomacy. • Part 1: Mapping Diaspora Diplomacy • Part 2: Diaspora Policies and Strategies • Part 3: Diaspora Networks and Economic Development • Part 4: Long-Distance Politics • Part 5: Digital Diasporas, Media and Soft Power • Part 6: Advancing Diaspora Diplomacy Studies The Routledge International Handbook of Diaspora Diplomacy is a key reference point for study and future scholarship in this nascent field.

State governments recognize the value diaspora populations bring to development efforts worldwide. Since 2007, the Global Forum on Migration and Development has examined ways to highlight policies and programs that can magnify the resources, both human and financial, that emigrants and their descendants contribute to development. This handbook continues that effort on the basis of earlier investigations by the book's collaborating institutions, the academic and policy literature, consultations and in-depth interviews with government officials and nongovernmental actors, and input by 62 national governments. The handbook is divided into three major parts. Each part gives concrete examples of policies and programs that have been effective, and pulls out both useful lessons and common challenges associated with the topics at hand. The pivotal question now facing many policymakers is not so much if diasporas can benefit their countries of origin but how they do so and what kinds of government policies and programs can foster these relationships.

As violent conflicts become increasingly intra-state rather than inter-state, international migration has rendered them increasingly transnational, as protagonists from each side find themselves in new countries of residence. In spite of leaving their homeland, the grievances and grudges that existed between them are not forgotten and can be passed to the next generation. This book explores the extension of homeland conflicts into transnational space amongst diaspora groups, with particular attention to the interactions between second-generation migrants. Comparative in approach, Diasporas and Homeland Conflicts focuses on the tensions that exist between Kurdish and Turkish populations in Sweden and Germany, examining the effects of hostland policies and politics on the construction, shaping or elimination of homeland conflicts. Drawing on extensive interview material with members of diasporic communities, this book sheds fresh light on the influences exercised on conflict dynamics by state policies on migrant incorporation and multiculturalism, as well as structures of migrant organizations. As such, it will be of interest to scholars of sociology, political science and international studies with interests in migration and diaspora, integration and transnational conflict.

Diaspora & transnationalism are widely used concepts in academic & political discourses. Although originally referring to quite different phenomena, they increasingly overlap today. Such inflation of meanings goes hand in hand with a danger of essentialising collective identities. This book analyses this topic.