Autonomy and positionality in diaspora politics

This contribution to a forum on "Diasporas and IR" aspires to elucidate theoretical connections between International Relations as a discipline, and the under-theorized study of transnational diaspora poliics. It discusses two important concepts: "autonomy" of diaspora agents vis-a-vis original homelands, and their "positionality," or positions of power in different states and international organizations. These concepts are important yet undertheorized in the study of IR

Can conflict-generated diasporas be moderate actors during episodes of contested sovereignty? Lebanese and Albanian diasporas compared

Conflict-generated diasporas are considered likely to maintain radical behaviours. This article seeks to explain why and how they nevertheless adopt moderate claims, especially when advocating highly sensitive issues such as state sovereignty. Focusing on groups in the US I investigate the Lebanese diaspora linked to the pro-sovereignty movement in Lebanon (2000–2005) and the Albanian diaspora linked to Kosovo's independence movement (1999–2008). The contentious episodes take place during the original homeland's post-conflict reconstruction. Embedded in the literatures on diasporas, conflicts, and transnational social movements, this article argues that instrumental approach towards the achievement of sovereignty explains why conflict-generated diasporas adopt moderate behaviours. Diasporas hope that by linking their claims to a global political opportunity structure of ‘liberalism’ they ‘play the game’ of the international community interested in promoting the liberal paradigm, and thus expect to obtain its support for the legitimisation of their pro-sovereignty goals. Diaspora entrepreneurs advance their claims in a two-step process. Initially they use frame bridging and frame extension to formulate their existing grievances. Then, an increased responsiveness from their host-state emerges to sustain their initial moderation. While individuals or groups in diaspora circles occasionally issue threats during the contentious episodes, the majority in the diaspora consider moderate politics as their dominant behaviour

Four types of diaspora mobilization : Albanian diaspora activism for Kosovo independence in the US and the UK

This comparative study explores the conditions and causal pathways through which conflict-generated diasporas become moderate or radical actors when linked to homelands experiencing limited sovereignty. Situated at the nexus of scholarship on diasporas and conflict, ethnic lobbying in foreign policy, and transnationalism this article develops four types of diaspora political mobilization—radical (strong and weak) and moderate (strong and weak)—and unpacks the causal pathways that lead to these four types in different political contexts. I argue that dynamics in the original homeland drive the overall trend towards radicalism or moderation of diaspora mobilization in a host-land: high levels of violence are associated with radicalism, and low levels with moderation. Nevertheless, how diaspora mobilization takes place is a result of the conjuncture of the level of violence with another variable, the linkages of the main secessionist elites to the diaspora. The article uses observations from eight cases of Albanian diaspora mobilization in the US and the UK from 1989 until the proclamation of Kosovo's independence in 2008

Diasporas and international politics : utilizing the universalistic creed of liberalism for particularistic and nationalist purposes

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

The Global City as a Space for Transnational Identity Politics

Global Cities are key nodes in circuits of transnational political activity. As dense spaces of political interaction, cities provide bundles of material, political and ideational resources that allow for the generation of new identities and frames of meaning, shifts in tactical and strategic alliances, and network brokerage activities. The key function of cities in facilitating transnationalism has not been adequately explored in the existing International Relations literature on transnationalism. In this paper, we use the case of London as a Global City to examine how its features as a dense institutional context; a node in multiple global networks; and as a resource-rich environment creates a creative space for innovations in transnational politics. We focus on the strategies employed by identity-based transnational political entrepreneurs and discuss four mechanisms of mobilization: brokerage (the linking of disparate networks), strategic framing (the use of symbolic politics), coalition-building (the forging of alliances between organizations) and social learning or mediated diffusion (the adoption of new ideas and practices). Our analysis challenges both standard state-centric and single-case study accounts of transnational activity, suggesting a novel site of investigation for IR scholars

Beyond statist paradigms : socio-spatial positionality and diaspora mobilization in international relations

This article presents a new positional perspective for the analysis of diaspora mobilization in International Relations, seeking to shift debates beyond realist, liberalist, and constructivist thinking, and speaking to a cluster of socio-positional theories in IR. It provides a conceptual discussion and empirical illustrations of diaspora positionality – the power diaspora activists derive from their socio-spatial positions in particular contexts – and its utility to account for different mobilization trajectories. Positionality as a socio-spatial concept offers opportunities to analyze diaspora politics beyond statist paradigms, dominated by analyses of triadic relationship between diasporas, host-states (immigration states), and home-states (sending states). Diasporas have links to many contexts beyond host-states and original home-states. Such linkages structure their relationships globally. If diaspora entrepreneurs perceive themselves as deriving strong powers to achieve homeland-oriented goals from a particular socio-spatial context, they are more likely to pursue claims through institutional politics and moderate means. If they perceive themselves as deriving weak powers from a context, they are more likely to engage with activist networks and pursue claims in transgressive ways. The conceptual discussion engages aspects of diaspora positionality in juxtaposition with other spatial concepts such as geographical proximity/distance and position in a social network. The empirical discussion brings patterns of mobilization trajectories from the Armenian diaspora mobilization for genocide recognition and the Palestinian diaspora mobilization for statehood, informed by a rich multi-sited fieldwork

Diaspora mobilizations for conflict : beyond amplification and reduction

This chapter focuses on concepts and theories illustrated by empirical evidence from different parts of the globe and briefly discusses the concept of 'diaspora', specifically 'conflict-generated diaspora'. It also looks into the concept of 'diaspora mobilization', its operationalizations, and its relationship to 'conflict spiral' and 'contested sovereignty'. Politically relevant foreign policy factors have also been identified to cause diasporas to amplify or reduce conflicts. Established scholarship on ethnic lobbying in foreign policy has been more interested in capturing specifics about how policy lobbying takes place through state institutions, party systems and trade unions. Several scholars have shown the detrimental effects on diaspora mobilizations of critical events stemming from the country of origin, where events associated with violence play an important role. The chapter also discusses the emergence of new theoretical streams to deepen the existing research agenda on diasporas and transitional justice, and on weak and fragile states

Referendums: A Legitimate Democratic Tool or a Mechanism for Nationalist Co-optation?

Scholars and practitioners need to delve deeper into how referendums affect liberal democracy. They can be co-opted by various groups to advance nationalist and exclusivist political agendas, warns Maria Koinova

Why do ethnonational conflicts reach different degrees of violence? : insights from Kosovo, Macedonia, and Bulgaria during the 1990s

Why did ethnonational conflicts reach different degrees of violence during the 1990s: high in Kosovo, middle-ranged in Macedonia, and low in Bulgaria? This article analyzes the relationship between the Albanians of Macedonia and Kosovo, the Turks of Bulgaria, and their respective states. Challenging democratization and security dilemma theories, it argues that the relative changes in minority rights compared to the communist period, rather than the absolute scope of minority rights granted by the new constitutions, created a political threshold early in the transition period that propelled causal chains of minority–majority interactions that led to different degrees of ethnonational violence. Combined with the status change, governmental strategies of co-optation, or coercion prompted the minorities to pursue their demands either through the institutions of the state (Bulgaria), through clandestine activities (Kosovo), or through a combination of both (Macedonia). This article also argues that a timely governmental response to nonterritorial minority demands prevented them from expanding to become territorial and from triggering higher levels of violence