Diasporas and Fragile States Beyond Remittances: Assessing the Theoretical Linkages

The relationship of states to populations beyond their borders is of increasing interest to those seeking to understand the international politics of migration. This introduction to the special issue of International Political Science Review on diasporas and sending states provides an overview of existing explanations for why states reach out to diasporas and migrants abroad and problematizes in important ways the idea that the sending state is a unitary actor. It highlights the need to examine the extraterritorial behaviour of agents within countries of origin, such as parties, bureaucracies and non-state actors, and to account for why and how their outreach differs. This entails looking at how outreach is conditioned by a state's sovereignty and capacity, type of nationalism, and regime character. This special issue starts a new conversation by delving deeper into the motivations of agents within countries of origin, and how their outreach is determined by the states and regimes in which they are embedded.

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Vietnamese-American Diaspora Engagement in Homeland Development: Reciprocities, Potentials, and Challenges

Nguyen

2022

Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Studies

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This article explores the reciprocal relationship between Vietnam and its diaspora in the United States, and suggests that they have adopted a reconciliatory approach to promote development progress within the context of transnational interactions triggered by globalization. The diaspora acts reactively to the home state’s responses, but proactively to its capacity for effective communication and negotiation. Conversely, the home state at first acts reactively toward transnational interactions and then gradually adopts expatriate-oriented policies to proactively steer diaspora engagement for development impacts. Reciprocal interactions help to expand the scope of diaspora engagement from low- to high-level transnational practices, which go beyond income-based and material supports and center on social development aiming to improve the wellbeing of every individual in Vietnamese society. These reactions may also push for further policy change in the home country and result in improved institutional conditions in which deeper contributions of the diaspora could be expected for the consolidation of peace and development in a post-conflict society.

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Diasporas and Fragile States Beyond Remittances: Assessing the Theoretical Linkages

Cited by 3 publications

References 73 publications

Diaspora Policy: A Missing Plank in Australia’s Multicultural Policy Portfolio

Diaspora Policy: A Missing Plank in Australia’s Multicultural Policy Portfolio

How do countries of origin engage migrants and diasporas? Multiple actors and comparative perspectives

Vietnamese-American Diaspora Engagement in Homeland Development: Reciprocities, Potentials, and Challenges

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