Asylum Diaspora: Tamils in Switzerland

McDowell, Christopher

doi:10.1007/978-0-387-29904-4_55

Cited by 7 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…The Irish Republican Army of Northern Ireland, for example, was sustained for many years by donations from the Irish diaspora in the United States (Hanagan, 1998). The same is true of the Tamils living in North America, Europe, and the Middle East (Biersteker & Eckert, 2007; McDowell, 1996; Wayland, 2004; Al-Ali & Koser, 2004; Cheran, 2003). Groups organized by ethnicity are also more likely to have ethnic kin living in neighboring countries, making the cross-border movement of arms and soldiers easier (Salehyan, 2008).…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 93%

Ethnicity and civil war

Denny

Walter

2014

Journal of Peace Research

193

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If a civil war begins, it is more likely to be initiated by an ethnic group than any other type of group. We argue that ethnic groups, on average, are likely to have more grievances against the state, are likely to have an easier time organizing support and mobilizing a movement, and are more likely to face difficult-to-resolve bargaining problems. We further argue that each of these factors was likely due to three pre-existing patterns associated with ethnicity. First, when political power is divided along ethnic lines, ruling elites can disproportionately favor their own ethnic group at the expense of others. This creates grievances that fall along ethnic lines. Second, ethnic groups tend to live together in concentrated spaces, sharing the same language and customs, and enjoying deep ties with ethnic kin. This means that ethnic groups, if they are aggrieved, will have an easier time mobilizing support to demand change. Third, the fact that ethnic identity tends to be less elastic than other types of identity means that credible commitments to any bargain – before and during a conflict— will be more difficult to make. The result is that ethnic groups will have a greater number of reasons, opportunities, and incentives to mobilize and fight than non-ethnic groups.

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Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 93%

Ethnicity and civil war

Denny

Walter

2014

Journal of Peace Research

193

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“…Most were young single men who worked as fundraisers, making weekly or monthly solicitations for donations. 75 In Toronto, police claim that Tiger supporters send as much as Canadian $1m a month to the LTTE to finance the war in Sri Lanka, primarily for the purchase of Another means of fundraising is the production and sale of Sri Lankan-made videos in the diaspora. These feature footage of the war, the hardships of life under the Sri Lankan government, and pro-LTTE events.…”

Section: Financial Supportmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnonationalist networks and transnational opportunities: the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora

Wayland¹

2004

Rev. Int. Stud.

197

144

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This article presents an empirical case study of a type of nonstate actor largely overlooked in the IR literature on transnationalism: the diaspora or transnational ethnic actor. Building upon findings from contentious politics or social movements scholarship, I highlight the nexus of domestic and transnational politics by demonstrating how actors form ethnic networks and utilise transnational opportunities to pursue political goals in various states. Specifically, I argue that the formation of ethnic networks in the Tamil diaspora has enabled the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) or ‘Tigers’ to engage in protracted insurgency against the Sri Lankan government army. Whereas traditional contentious politics scholarship is unable to explain the longevity and intensity of that conflict, a consideration of the transnational dimension provides new insight into how ethnic conflicts may be sustained. The combination of greater political freedom, community organising and access to advanced communications and financial resources in receiving states has allowed Tamil separatists in the diaspora to maintain ‘transnational ethnic networks’ which are in turn used to mobilise funds that have prolonged the secessionist campaign in Sri Lanka.

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“…There are observable regularities reflecting the theory of migration networks, that is, a noticeable concentration of Ukrainian citizens in units where larger numbers of people from that country lived and worked previously (see McDowell, 1997). These include the suburban areas of many metropolises, as well as areas with developed agriculture, notably orchards (traditional destinations for seasonal migrants, e.g., the Grójecki Poviat in the Mazowieckie Province).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Refugees from Ukraine in Poland—Differentiation of spatial distribution and impact on demographic structures

Wiśniewski,

Szejgiec‐Kolenda,

Duma

et al. 2023

Population Space and Place

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In late February 2022, the Russian invasion of Ukraine set‐off a tide of refugees heading west. The paper discusses the scale of the refugee flow into Poland, its distribution patterns and its influence on existing demographic structures (both captured at a local LAU 1 scale). By studying refugee flows at three time‐points, the study, on the one hand, offers a dynamic analysis and, on the other, identifies the spatial patterns behind the movements of the successive waves of refugees. Unexpected wave of recent immigration is likely to strengthen the demographic and settlement processes observable in Poland. The above pertains to both the overall concentration in major metropolitan areas, as well as to suburbanisation processes. The areas with the highest depopulation (eastern Poland) have recorded a relatively low influx of refugees. This implies that it cannot be expected that the immigration may be of a compensatory nature and that it will be helpful in making up for structural population losses in such areas.

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Asylum Diaspora: Tamils in Switzerland

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

Ethnicity and civil war

Ethnicity and civil war

Ethnonationalist networks and transnational opportunities: the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora

Refugees from Ukraine in Poland—Differentiation of spatial distribution and impact on demographic structures

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