Cindy Horst

Migrants as agents of development: Diaspora engagement discourse and practice in Europe

This article analyses how European governments and civil society actors engage diasporas in Europe as agents for the development of their countries of origin. Through a critical examination of diaspora engagement discourse and practice in various European countries, we identify three implicit understandings. First, development is conceived of as the planned activities of Western professional development actors; second, diasporas are seen as actual communities rooted in a national ‘home’ and sharing a group identity; and third, migration is regarded as binary mobility. We argue that these interpretations are informed by notions of ethnic or national rootedness in given places and that they lead to further assumptions about why, and in pursuit of what goals, diasporas engage. We conclude that such essentialized understandings limit the potential of diaspora engagement as a means of innovating the development industry by broadening understandings of what development entails and how it can be done.

How does Conflict in Migrants’ Country of Origin Affect Remittance‐Sending? Financial Priorities and Transnational Obligations Among Somalis and Pakistanis in Norway

This article examines how conflict in the country of origin interacts with other factors in shaping migrants’ remittance-sending practices. Our data come from a survey of 10 immigrant groups in Norway and semi-structured interviews with Somali and Pakistani remittance-senders and receivers. First, we conduct an in-depth comparison to explore the differences in how Somali and Pakistani migrants decide about remittance-sending. Second, we use survey data on all 10 migrant groups to evaluate whether the differences that are not explained by socioeconomic characteristics, may partly reflect whether or not there is ongoing conflict in the country of origin. In our analyses we differentiate between (1) the effect of migrants’ capacity to remit and their prioritizing of local and transnational expenditures, and (2) the impact of state collapse and absence of human security on migrants’ and refugees’ desire to remit. We find that ongoing conflict in the country of origin exerts an upward pressure on remittance-sending.

The Depoliticisation of Diasporas from the Horn of Africa: From Refugees to Transnational Aid Workers

The potential for productive collaboration between European relief and development actors, on the one hand, and refugee diasporas from the Horn of Africa, on the other, has been seriously undermined by misunderstandings about the apolitical role diasporas ought to have. This article, which is based on findings from multi-sited research on diasporas from the Horn of Africa in Europe, analyses how current diaspora discourse and practice depoliticises refugee diasporas by demanding that they adhere to the principles of impartiality, neutrality and unity. Instead of seeking to understand diaspora engagement in terms of the so-called migration-development nexus, I argue in favour of focusing on such engagement as a form of civic participation in the country of settlement: engaged European citizens from the Horn of Africa give voice to societal concerns and organise solidarity in their countries of origin. Through their actions, they take an active role in public (foreign) affairs in their countries of settlement.

Making a difference in Mogadishu? Experiences of multi-sited embeddedness among diaspora youth

ABSTRACT Civic participation today is increasingly multi-sited, operating in, between and across specific locations. Growing numbers of people experience multi-sited embeddedness, which I understand both in the sense of belonging to and engaging in multiple communities. In this article, I focus on those who left Somalia as young children or were born to Somali parents in exile, and ask what motivates these young people to return or turn to the Somali region. What experiences shape their civic engagement and where do they engage? How does their hybrid, multi-sited or embedded sense of identity impact their engagement in several locations? And how does that engagement affect their sense of identity? The article is based on 80 in-depth interviews and four focus group discussions in Garowe, Hargeisa, Mogadishu, Oslo and the Twin Cities. Informants stayed for shorter or longer durations in the Somali region but lived for the larger part of their lives in Norway or the United States. I illustrate how young people’s civic engagement impact feelings of belonging as much as their sense of belonging influences their civic actions. In this article, I argue for non-binary ways of studying multi-sited embeddedness that do justice to diaspora youth’s everyday negotiations.

Forced migration: morality and politics

ABSTRACT Thomas Faist’s contribution lies in wishing to deconstruct political perceptions around forced migration that reduce the protection that refugees can access. One important task we have as academics is exactly to challenge dominant discourses that function to oppress or control, serving the interests of some at the costs of others, and to be aware of our own role in perpetuating such discourses. One important area where Faist’s account fails to deconstruct existing discourse on forced migration is related to the political subjecthood of refugees and the political nature of their experiences. The reasons for flight are highly political, refugees are conscious political subjects, and refugee flows have always been a matter of high politics.

Marginal Actors? Diaspora Somalis Negotiate Their Citizenship

This chapter illustrates the discrepancies between citizenship as a universal discourse of equal rights and the realities of socio-economic marginalisation for certain groups of citizens. This point is illustrated by exploring the transnational citizenship practices of diaspora Somalis in Kenya, Egypt, Europe and the United States. Horst and Al-Sharmani argues that these discrepancies are caused by the fact that ‘belonging’ is a crucial element of in understandings of who is a citizen or not. The chapter explores how diaspora Somalis look for alternative discourses and experiences of citizenship. Obtaining the right type of citizenship is an important aspect of their strategies, but diaspora Somalis then realize that does not provide them with the rights they had hoped for. Instead, they develop a transnational sense of citizenship, which in many ways questions how citizenship is experienced and used by marginalized citizens and non-citizen residents.

Exploring 12 Migration Corridors: Rationale, Methodology and Overview

The team of researchers whose work is presented in this book set out to study ‘the evolution of European migration systems’. But it is not possible to observe, measure or interview a migration system. In fact, as noted in the Introduction, the concept was shrouded with doubts and misgivings, even within the research team, and it seemed an elusive candidate for empirical research. The idea of migration systems nevertheless served us well as a guiding star, impelling us to identify the researchable mechanisms that might produce such systems, develop them or cause them to stagnate. The initial challenge was to determine from whom we could collect data in a way that was theoretically meaningful and methodologically feasible. Equally important what could we ask people about in qualitative interviews and surveys that would shed light on our overarching questions about migration systems and expose the workings of feedback mechanisms?

Cawo M. Abdi, Elusive Jannah: the Somali diaspora and a borderless Muslim identity. Minneapolis MN: University of Minnesota Press (hb US

an important political issue. For instance, during Ashura celebrations or political events – such as the war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006 in Lebanon – the Shaykh’s followers (including Senegalese converted to Shiite Islam (pp. 173–200)) show solidarity with their compatriots and co-religionists in difficult situations (p. 117). In return, although linked to the latter, these Lebanese – Shiites or Maronite Christians – remain attached to their country of adoption, which they protect from subversive influences coming from elsewhere, including Lebanon. Thus, Shiite Islam has succeeded, in collaboration with Sunni movements and Sufi orders, in securing a place in the Senegalese religious space. However, despite Shaykh al-Zayn’s reforms, including the introduction of new forms of expression of the faith (Ashura, mut’a marriage or temporary marriage, etc.) that are in common usage (p. 229), Leichtman acknowledges that this strategy has not prevented the development of a Lebanese class with freedom of thought and more pragmatic in religion practices: a large part of the Lebanese community continues to claim to be merely ‘Muslim’ and pays less attention to certain Shia rites. In short, this book gives us a part of the history of the Shiite Lebanese community that settled outside its original land. As this migratory enterprise was more a West African reality than specifically Senegalese, the analysis could have better accommodated a comparative approach. The author has tried to do this but her analysis is limited to a comparison of the flow of migrants in these countries – particularly Côte d’Ivoire (p. 35) – without including the social dynamics (integration, citizenship, etc.) linked to this phenomenon. This lack of comparative approach also appears when she addresses the attitude of young Lebanese towards theirmarjaʿ and Shiite Islam. Indeed, although Leichtman easily explains the freedom of these young Lebanese in the expression of their faith, she does not analyse this change in the prism of the socio-political context – with the evolution of social perceptions of the notions of ndiguel –which has seen the authority of the shaykhs of Sufi orders crumble in recent years in Senegal.

94.50 – 978 0 8166 9738 0; pb US

ABSTRACT In conflict and post-conflict settings, the international community operates with the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda supporting gender equality. During and after war, gender roles are often deeply contested as part of larger societal transformations and uncertainties. In Somalia since the 1960s, gender identities and roles have undergone substantial changes, influenced by contemporary political systems, the women’s movement, civil war and religious transformations. The international community’s role in these societal transformations should not be over-estimated. Life history research with Somali women shows that debates on women’s roles in the public sphere are taking place irrespective of the international agenda. Somali women have, at least since the 1960s, held civil-political leadership positions, despite substantial disagreements on the public role of women in Somalia. Furthermore, the “international” and “local” are difficult to disentangle. The Somali female elite have often spent years abroad and introduced new gender perspectives from places as divergent as Egypt, Russia and the United States. Global cultural and religious trends are influencing post-war Somalia, Somaliland and Puntland. In this complex socio-cultural landscape, the international WPS agenda can support – but also risk delegitimizing – Somali processes and perspectives. The article illustrates the gap that exists between global norms and local realities by focusing on Somali discourse on women’s public roles and political participation.

27 – 978 0 8166 9739 7). 2015, 296 pp.

Khasalamwa-Mwandha, Sarah. 2012. Spaces of Recovery: An Exploration of the Complexities of Post-war/Disaster Recovery in Uganda and Sri Lanka. Thesis for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor, Trondheim, November 2012, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Technology Management, Department of Geography. Doctoral theses at NTNU 2012:356. NTNU, Trondheim. 196 pp. ISBN 978-82-471-4041-3 (printed ver.), ISBN 978-82-471-4043-7 (electronic ver.), ISSN 1503-8181.