Diaspora politics is the

political behavior Theories of political behavior, as an aspect of political science, attempt to quantify and explain the influences that define a person's political views, ideology, and levels of political participation. Political behavior is the subset of hu ...

of transnational

ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

diasporas, their relationship with their ethnic

homeland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethn ...

s and their host states, and their prominent role in ethnic conflicts. Shain, Yossi & Tamara Cofman Wittes. Peace as a Three-Level Game: The Role of Diasporas in Conflict Resolution in Ambrosio, Thomas. 2002. "Ethnic identity groups and U.S. foreign policy." Praeger Publishers. The study of diaspora politics is part of the broader field of

diaspora studies Diaspora studies is an academic field established in the late 20th century to study dispersed ethnic populations, which are often termed diaspora peoples. The usage of the term diaspora carries the connotation of forced resettlement, due to e ...

. To understand a diaspora's politics, one must first understand its historical context and attachments. Ambrosio, Thomas. 2002."Ethnic identity groups and U.S. foreign policy." Praeger Publishers. A diaspora is a transnational community that defined itself as a singular ethnic group based upon its shared identity. Diasporas result from historical emigration from an original

. In modern cases, this migration can be historically documented, and the diaspora associated with a certain territory. Whether this territory is in fact the homeland of a specific ethnic group, is a political matter. The older the migration, the less evidence there is for the event: in the case of the

Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...

the migration, the homeland, and the migration route have not yet been accurately determined. A claim to a homeland always has political connotations and is often disputed. Self-identified diasporas place great importance on their homeland, because of their ethnic and cultural association with it, especially if it has been 'lost' or 'conquered'. That has led ethnic nationalist movements within several diasporas, often resulting in the establishment of a sovereign homeland. However, even when they are established, it is rare for the complete diaspora population to return to the homeland, and the remaining diaspora community typically retains significant emotional attachment to the homeland, and the co-ethnic population there. Ethnic diaspora communities are now recognized by scholars as "inevitable" and "endemic" features of the international system, writes Yossi Shain and

Tamara Cofman Wittes Tamara Cofman Wittes is an American writer and public figure. She is a senior fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. She directed the Center from March 2012 through March 2017. From November 2009 through Januar ...

, for the following reasons: # First, within each of a diaspora's host states, resident members can organize domestically to maximize their political clout. # Second, a diaspora can exert significant pressure in its homeland's domestic political arena regarding issues of diaspora concern. # Lately, a diaspora's transnational community can engage directly with third-party states and international organizations, in effect bypassing its homeland and host state governments. Diasporas are thus perceived as transnational political entities, operating on "behalf of their entire people" and capable of acting independently from any individual state (their homeland or their host states).

References

Politics, diaspora Ethnicity in politics Transnationalism Identity politics {{poli-stub

See also

References