Four Guys and a Fax Machine? Diasporas, New Information Technologies, and the Internationalization of Religion in Egypt

Rowe, Paul S.

doi:10.1093/jcs/43.1.81

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…For example, the activities of the US Copts Association (see Brinkerhoff, 2005), which advocates for improved quality of life and human rights protection for Coptic Christians in Egypt, has been characterized as “four guys and a fax machine” (Rowe, 2001). Its networks are larger than this headline suggests, but the Association is largely the full‐time mission of one individual, with financial and informational support from others in diaspora (and sometimes in Egypt).…”

Section: Part I: Diasporas and Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Creating an Enabling Environment for Diasporas’ Participation in Homeland Development

Brinkerhoff

2012

International Migration

118

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Diasporas contribute to their homeland’s development through remittances, philanthropy, skills transfer, business investment, and advocacy. This paper focuses on actions that homeland governments can take to create an enabling environment for diasporas’ contributions. Part I addresses the diaspora phenomenon and the homeland government-diaspora relationship. Part II develops a framework for characterizing government’s role in an enabling environment specific to diasporas’ development contributions. Part III considers how to put the framework into practice, identifying important caveats and discussing several implementation issues, including the potential role of donors. The framework is also a tool for diasporans to strategically advocate for improved enabling environments.

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Section: Part I: Diasporas and Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Creating an Enabling Environment for Diasporas’ Participation in Homeland Development

Brinkerhoff

2012

International Migration

118

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“…Diaspora organisations, especially the US Copts Association, worked in collaboration with transnational religious organisations to lobby for the law that mandated the promotion of religious freedom as a central pillar of US foreign policy (Rowe 2001;Zaki 2010). This involvement of the political activists led to Egypt being left on the supervision list of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), from which time it has been the subject of an annual review by the committee that reports to Congress.…”

Section: Strategies Of Political Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Scholars have shown that by externalising its protest against the Copts' discrimination, the Coptic diaspora raises international awareness of the status of the Coptic minority and influences and agitates public debate on Christian-Muslim relations in Egypt (Haddad and Donovan 2013;Rowe 2001;Zaki 2010). Diaspora involvement has also had a significant impact on the expansion of Coptic civil society in Egypt and its inclination to embrace a more assertive advocacy role (Rowe 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Coptic diaspora and the status of the Coptic minority in Egypt

Yefet

2016

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies

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This paper examines the political activity of the Coptic diaspora in the United States in support of the Coptic minority in Egypt. Analysing its strategy reveals that for years it has focused on lobbying the United States and international bodies, in order to raise international awareness of the Coptic minority status. By using this strategy, it has framed the struggle for Copts' rights in a manner that contradicts the Egyptian unity narrative, and the strategic choices of those they are struggling for. This paper shows that understanding the limitations of this strategy alongside a change in the structure of opportunities in Egypt has led to a change in the pattern of activity of the diaspora activists. Alongside lobbying for international involvement, they have developed additional strategies, including strengthening their influence in the homeland and even direct action vis-à-vis the Egyptian authorities. This paper, which emphasises the pattern of action of diaspora activists that represent minorities, directs attention to the structure of opportunities in the homeland, the variety of relationships between the diaspora and the homeland, and their effect on the ability of the diaspora activists to become a significant force in shaping the life of the minority. ARTICLE HISTORY

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“…It is not clear how the U.S. Copts Association is representative of the broader Copt diaspora. More to the point, some argue that its actions may have serious repercussions for Copts still residing in Egypt (Ibrahim, 1998;Rowe, 2001). In the Egyptian press, the U.S. Copts Association has been accused of being 'a relatively small group of well-financed and politically connected Copts' who are hostile to Egypt (Elgindy, 1999).…”

Section: The Us Copts Association: Innovation With Information Techmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digital diasporas and governance in semi-authoritarian states: the case of the Egyptian Copts

Brinkerhoff

2005

Public Admin. Dev.

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This article explores the potential role of diasporas and information technology (IT) in fostering good governance in semi-authoritarian states. Following a review of the literature on good governance and information technology, the case of the Egyptian Copt community and its diaspora is explored, focusing on the activities of the U.S. Copt Association. It is argued that, whether or not it is an explicit objective, the U.S. Copt Association is supporting improved and more democratic governance in Egypt. The case confirms that heterogeneous networks of communication and people can promote good governance, even for the socially excluded and disempowered in a weakly penetrated state.

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Four Guys and a Fax Machine? Diasporas, New Information Technologies, and the Internationalization of Religion in Egypt

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

Creating an Enabling Environment for Diasporas’ Participation in Homeland Development

Creating an Enabling Environment for Diasporas’ Participation in Homeland Development

The Coptic diaspora and the status of the Coptic minority in Egypt

Digital diasporas and governance in semi-authoritarian states: the case of the Egyptian Copts

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