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Diaspora politics is the study of the political behavior
Theories of 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....
 of transnational ethnic diaspora
Diaspora

The term diaspora refers to the movement of any population sharing common ethnicity identity who were either forced to leave or voluntarily left their Settler territory, and became residents in areas often far removed from the former....
s, their relationship with their ethnic homeland
Homeland

A homeland is the concept of the territory to which an ethnic group holds a long history and a deep cultural association with —the country in which a particular nationality began....
s and their host states, as well as their prominent role in ethnic conflicts. The study of diaspora politics is part of the broader field of diaspora studies
Diaspora studies

Diaspora studies is an academic field established in the late twentieth century to study dispersed ethnicity populations, which are often termed diaspora peoples....
.

To understand a diaspora's politics, one must first understand its historical context and attachments: A diaspora is a transnational community that defined itself as a singular ethnic group
Ethnic group

An ethnic group is a group of humans whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage that is real or presumed.Ethnic identity is further marked by the recognition from others of a group's distinctiveness and the recognition of common culture, linguistic, religion, human behaviour or Race traits, real or presumed, as indic...
 based upon its shared identity
Identity

Identity may refer to:...
.






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Diaspora politics is the study of the political behavior
Theories of 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....
 of transnational ethnic diaspora
Diaspora

The term diaspora refers to the movement of any population sharing common ethnicity identity who were either forced to leave or voluntarily left their Settler territory, and became residents in areas often far removed from the former....
s, their relationship with their ethnic homeland
Homeland

A homeland is the concept of the territory to which an ethnic group holds a long history and a deep cultural association with —the country in which a particular nationality began....
s and their host states, as well as their prominent role in ethnic conflicts. The study of diaspora politics is part of the broader field of diaspora studies
Diaspora studies

Diaspora studies is an academic field established in the late twentieth century to study dispersed ethnicity populations, which are often termed diaspora peoples....
.

To understand a diaspora's politics, one must first understand its historical context and attachments: A diaspora is a transnational community that defined itself as a singular ethnic group
Ethnic group

An ethnic group is a group of humans whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage that is real or presumed.Ethnic identity is further marked by the recognition from others of a group's distinctiveness and the recognition of common culture, linguistic, religion, human behaviour or Race traits, real or presumed, as indic...
 based upon its shared identity
Identity

Identity may refer to:...
. Diasporas result from historical emigration from an original homeland
Homeland

A homeland is the concept of the territory to which an ethnic group holds a long history and a deep cultural association with —the country in which a particular nationality began....
. 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 Roma people
Roma people

The Romani are an ethnic group of Europe tracing their Origins of the Romani people to middle kingdoms of India.The Romani are Romani diaspora with their largest concentrated populations in Europe, especially the Roma of Central and Eastern Europe, with more recent diaspora populations in the Americas and, to a lesser extent, in other par...
 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'. This has led ethnic nationalist movements
Ethnic nationalism

Ethnic nationalism is a form of nationalism wherein the "nation" is defined in terms of ethnicity. Whatever specific ethnicity is involved, ethnic nationalism always includes some element of Kinship and descent from previous generations....
 within several diasporas, often resulting in the establishment of a sovereign
Sovereignty

File:Leviathan gr.jpgSovereignty is the exclusive right to control a government, a State, a people, or oneself. A sovereign is a supreme lawmaking authority....
 homeland. But even when these 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
Yossi Shain

Yossi Shain is an academic specializing in international relations, comparative politics and diaspora politics. Yossi received his PhD from Yale in 1988....
 and Tamara Cofman Wittes, for the following reasons:
  1. First, within each of a diaspora's host states, resident members can organize domestically to maximize their political clout.
  2. Second, a diaspora can exert significant pressure in its homeland's domestic political arena regarding issues of diaspora concern.
  3. 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 (be it their homeland or host states.)

See also


  • Identity politics
    Identity politics

    Identity politics is political action to advance the interests of members of a group whose members perceive themselves to be oppressed by virtue of a shared and marginalized identity ....
  • Diaspora nationalism
    Nationalism

    Nationalism refers to an ideology, a feeling, a form of culture, or a social movement that focuses on the nation. While there is significant debate over the historical origins of nations, nearly all Expert accept that nationalism, at least as an ideology and social movement, is a Modernity phenomenon originating in Europe....
  • Transnationalism
    Transnationalism

    Transnationalism is a social movement grown out of the heightened interconnectivity between people all around the world and the loosening of boundaries between country....
  • Diaspora politics in the United States
    Diaspora politics in the United States

    Diaspora politics in the United States is the study of the Theories of political behavior of transnational ethnic groups diasporas, their relationship with their ethnic homelands and their host states, as well as their prominent role in ethnic conflicts....