Conceptualizing ‘diaspora diplomacy’: Territory and populations betwixt the domestic and foreign

Abstract

This article bridges diaspora studies and diplomacy studies by proposing the concept of ‘diaspora diplomacy’, which considers the components of diplomacy and the changing relationships that diasporas have with states and other diplomatic actors. First, we ask who are the key actors engaged in diaspora diplomacy? Second, how is diplomatic work enacted by and through diasporas? Third, what are the geographies of diaspora diplomacy? Diaspora diplomacy directs researchers to reconsider the distinction between domestic and foreign policy, and the territorial dimensions of both diaspora and diplomacy. We engage with assemblage theory, highlighting the polylateral and multi-directional aspects of diaspora diplomacy.

Critical geopolitics of Palestinian diasporas' autobiographical practice

“…Alison Blunt (2003) writes of the linkage between memory, home, and diasporic identity, arguing that both imaginative geographies and lived experiences are essential to the constitution of a “homeland” (p. 203). Ho and McConnell (2019) suggest that the emergence of diaspora challenges the rigid territorial assumptions of citizenship, politics, and diplomacy. It is widely accepted in academic circles that being part of a diaspora means more than being an ordinary migrant.…”

Leveraging Connectivities: Comparative Diaspora Strategies and Evolving Cultural Pluralities in China and Singapore

“…The former benefits when their immigrants who are diasporas of another country build bridges for economic investments abroad, or when development in the Global South minimizes extremism and poverty-led migration to the Global North (Sinatti & Horst, 2014; Boyle & Ho, 2017). Second, new developments in both diaspora studies and diplomacy studies point increasingly to the role of diasporas in the conduct of diplomatic action (henceforth diaspora diplomacy; see Brinkerhoff, 2019; Ho & McConnell, 2019). Diaspora-centered development influences the international relations between countries in the Global North and the Global South through development, migration and foreign policies (Shain, 2002; Varadarajan, 2010; Pellerin & Mullings, 2013).…”

“…Diaspora-centered development influences the international relations between countries in the Global North and the Global South through development, migration and foreign policies (Shain, 2002; Varadarajan, 2010; Pellerin & Mullings, 2013). Diasporas engage in diplomatic tactics to communicate with and connect an array of stakeholders and audiences, including participating in high-level diplomatic negotiations; as advocates or lobbyists to influence domestic and foreign policies; or through their interactions with host communities (see Berkowitz & Mügge, 2014; Ho & McConnell, 2019; Newland, 2010; McConnell, 2016).…”

The spaces of diaspora’s revitalization: Transregions, infrastructure and urbanism

“…These strategies, enwrapping diaspora’s homeland orientations within a range of new transnational and multi-scalar projects, are predicated on the smooth passage of select diaspora subjects and their remittances. The state brought into being a new kind of subject from afar, one that transformed diasporas into diplomats in an effort to represent the interests of the homeland (Ho and McConnell, 2017) and as conduits for transnational capital. Diaspora strategies have granted them special benefits ranging from dual citizenship to the relaxation of residency restrictions, the need for a visa, and the curtailment of import restrictions.…”