Migrant associations, other social networks of Portuguese Diaspora, and the modern political engagement of non-resident citizens

Abstract

Portuguese emigration has a long global history and, in recent decades, has increased substantially and diversified its range of destinations. Recent emigration, predominantly to the European Union and Lusophone countries in Africa, complemented the traditional 19th to twentieth centuries’ waves of emigration to the Americas. The Portuguese Diaspora is multigenerational and globally distributed, although diverse. How are those generations of migrants organized within the local spaces of the Diaspora? Based on an innovative survey of more than 500 Portuguese Diaspora organisations, this paper shows how migrant engagement policies and practices are evolving and dealing with the new types of Diaspora relations, organisations and institutions. The main output of this research is an exploratory typology of the contemporary apparatuses of these Portuguese Diaspora systems and their nodes. This typology characterises the modern political engagement of non-resident citizens through their participation in associations and other social networks. With this pioneering paper, we intend to open a discussion regarding the means and forms available to mobilise current and past emigrant groups within a meaningful Diaspora policy.