Diaspora and Conflict: Locality, Long-Distance Nationalism, and Delocalisation of Conflict Dynamics

Abstract

Intra-state violent conflicts are no longer fought solely in the actual war territories. Increasingly, conflicts seem to become dispersed and delocalised. Stories about American Jewish groups supporting right-wing extremism in Israel, German Croats speeding the violent collapse of Yugoslavia, and the Tamil Tigers in London, Kurds in the Netherlands, Filipinos, Khmer, and Vietnamese in California are not new to us. Within the field of Conflict Studies, however, the process of the deterritorialisation of conflict is left surprisingly unexplored. In this paper we will examine the political mobilisation of diaspora communities and their role in intra-state conflicts. How and why are diaspora communities involved in intra-state conflicts in their erstwhile homelands? What activities do they undertake? How are they organised? What strategies do they use? And, eventually, how do they affect contemporary conflicts? By examining these issues we aim to understand more about the dialectics between locality and conflict, the production of (long-distance) nationalism, and the relationship between virtual and spatial communities.

Somali and Ethiopian Diasporic Engagement for Peace in the Horn of Africa

“…Until recently, the contribution of diaspora actors to the escalation or perpetuation of conflict has dominated the literature (Anderson 1992: 12-13.;Kaldor 2001: 7-9;Demmers 2002Demmers , 2007Collier and Hoeffler 2004: 575). 2 Leroy and Mohan (2003: 612) have noted the emergence of a more balanced view of diaspora contributions that takes into account both the negative and positive consequences of diasporic engagement.…”

Views of Selected Australian Slovenes on the State of Democracy and Rule of Law in Slovenia

“…Primer Slovencev se nedvomno razlikuje od preostalih narodov z območja nekdanje Jugoslavije, kjer so izseljenske skupnosti zaradi konfliktov v devetdesetih letih prejšnjega stoletja (p)ostale veliko bolj »nacionalistične na daljavo«, če povzamem Skrbiša (1999: 183). 8 Demmers (2002: 86 po Kaldor 1996 opaža, da so v diasporah prisotni tako kozmopolitizem in antinacionalizem kot reakcionarni etnonacionalizem. Mogoče je trditi, da je razvoj pri Slovencih šel v prvi smeri, pri preostalih narodih v južnem sosedstvu pa v drugi.…”

Can Migratory Contacts and Remittances Contribute to Reconciliation and Reconstruction in Rwanda?

“…Migrants located in the Western world may play a large role in post‐conflict societies. Several studies point to the positive role of these migrants in peace building and reconciliation efforts (Demmers, 2002; Mohamoud, 2006; Newland, 2007; Newland and Patrick, 2004). Newland and Patrick (2004) argue that migrants possess unique strengths since they are cultural experts, able to participate simultaneously in different cultural settings (i.e.…”