Recognising the need to unpack the 'state' and problematise the term 'diaspora', in this special issue we examine the various actors within (and beyond) the state that participate in the design and implementation of diaspora policies, as well as the mechanisms through which diasporas are constructed by governments, political parties, diaspora entrepreneurs, or international organisations. Ex tant theories are often hard-pressed to capture the empirical variation and often end up identifying 'exceptions'. We theorise these 'exceptions' through three interrelated conceptual moves: First, we focus on understudied aspects of the relationships between states as well as organised non-state actors and their citizens or co-ethnics abroad (or at homein cases of return migration). Second, we examine dyads of origin states and specific diasporic communities differentiated by time of emigration, place of residence, socioeconomic status, migratory status, generation, or skills. Third, we consider migration in its multiple spatial and temporal phases (emigration, immigration, transit, return) and how they intersect to constitute diasporic identities and policies. These conceptual moves contribute to comparative research in the field and allow us to identify the mechanisms connecting structural variables with specific policies by states (and other actors) as well as responses by the relevant diasporic communities.

Assistance for immigrants to learn English, receive health services, open a bank account, apply for naturalization, or get a work certification is generally considered the responsibility of the government and society of the country where they reside, as part of the process of supporting their integration and ultimately their formal acquisition of citizenship. But in the past two decades, Mexico and other countries of origin of Latin American migrants in the United States have increasingly taken part in these activities through their consular representations, with the stated goal of addressing the needs and protecting the rights of precarious status migrants. These diaspora policies—focused on the provision of social services for emigrants in their country of destination as a way to support their well-being and access to opportunities to participate as community members in the places where they live—are one of the clearest manifestations of the reconceptualization of the boundaries of citizenship and the rights and obligations that come with it. These cases reveal how origin countries can play an important role in providing resources to support migrants’ access to social rights in the country of destination, an area of migration governance that is rarely discussed as a space for collaboration between governments, civil society, migrants, and international institutions. At the same time, the expansion of rights across borders offers an opportunity to re-examine questions of state accountability and responsibility regarding the causes of emigration as well as the protection of rights for returning migrants.

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