Volume 3 No 1

Permanent URI for this collection

https://reponew.gchumanrights.org/handle/20.500.11825/989

Contents

Editorial

Editorial of special focus: The influence of diaspora on democracy-building processes: Behavioural diversity
by Arusyak Aleksanyan

Introduction to special focus: The influence of diaspora on democracy-building processes
by Manfred Nowak

Articles

The ambivalent role of diaspora engagement for the homeland in the Balkans
by Adriano Remiddi, Mubina Alibašić, Sabiha Kapetanović, Emilija Davidović and Edima Zejnilović

Africa's democratic deficit: The role of the diaspora in bridging the gap between citizens and government
by Chaan Koang Tutlam, Joseph Geng Akech, Susan Chenai Mutambasere, Thabang Ramakhula and Usang Maria Assim

The political participation of the diaspora of the Middle East and North Africa before and after the Arab uprisings
by Chafic Sarsar, Cedric D’Hondt, Maria Teresia Di Lenna, Ali al-Khulidi and Suhail Taha

The European Union diaspora dilemma: To dodge or to dive in
by Sara Amorim, Elitsa Todorova, Alessia Vedano and Bernhard Wetschko

Diaspora and democratisation: Diversity of impact in Eastern Partnership countriesa
by Arusyak Aleksanyan, Varduhi Bejanyan, Carolina Dodon, Katsiaryna Maksimenko and Agabeg Simonian

The influence of the African diaspora on democracy-building processes in countries of residence
by Sabelo Gumedze

The Armenian community in Iran: Issues and emigration
by Gohar Iskandaryan

Book review

Ingrid Carlberg Raoul Wallenberg: The Man Who Saved Thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Holocaust
by Jan Mutton

Browse

Browsing Volume 3 No 1 by Subject "democratisation"
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    Africa’s democratic deficit: the role of the diaspora in bridging the gap between citizens and government
    (Global Campus, 2019) Akech, Joseph Geng ; Assim, Usang Maria ; Mutambasere, Susan Chenai ; Ramakhula, Thabang ; Tutlam, Chaan Koang
    Africa’s diaspora continues to play an indispensable role in shaping the continent’s social and political landscape. This impact has been felt since the struggle against colonialism to the contemporary challenges of democratisation. Recent developments in technology and the impact of globalisation have further amplified the power of the diasporas to influence events in their home countries. The trend in response by African governments has ranged from exclusion and isolation to cooperation and collaboration. Many African governments have been open to engagement with diasporas to facilitate financial investments, but have been more circumspect in allowing political participation by the diasporas. Can the diasporas play a positive role in facilitating and aiding Africa’s new impetus towards democratisation or will diasporas further fragment some of their already fragile home countries? This article discusses democracy in sub- Saharan Africa against the backdrop of the peoples’ lived realities, and explores the role of the diasporas in addressing challenges peculiar to the African context. It is argued that diasporas play a significant role in forging the development of democracy in their homelands. The article engages four claims to interrogate this position. First, it contextualises democracy as a reality in Africa. Second, it closely considers the participation by the diasporas. The third aspect involves an evaluation of Africa’s legal and political frameworks, followed by the proposal for a collaborative approach towards the diasporas, to improve democratisation in Africa. As such, the research question that the article seeks to answer is whether the diasporas play a role in forging the development of democracy in Africa. With the aid of a desktop approach that draws on experiences from selected countries, the article maps the way forward in fostering a better Africa’s diaspora continues to play an indispensable role in shaping the continent’s social and political landscape. This impact has been felt since the struggle against colonialism to the contemporary challenges of democratisation. Recent developments in technology and the impact of globalisation have further amplified the power of the diasporas to influence events in their home countries. The trend in response by African governments has ranged from exclusion and isolation to cooperation and collaboration. Many African governments have been open to engagement with diasporas to facilitate financial investments, but have been more circumspect in allowing political participation by the diasporas. Can the diasporas play a positive role in facilitating and aiding Africa’s new impetus towards democratisation or will diasporas further fragment some of their already fragile home countries? This article discusses democracy in sub- Saharan Africa against the backdrop of the peoples’ lived realities, and explores the role of the diasporas in addressing challenges peculiar to the African context. It is argued that diasporas play a significant role in forging the development of democracy in their homelands. The article engages four claims to interrogate this position. First, it contextualises democracy as a reality in Africa. Second, it closely considers the participation by the diasporas. The third aspect involves an evaluation of Africa’s legal and political frameworks, followed by the proposal for a collaborative approach towards the diasporas, to improve democratisation in Africa. As such, the research question that the article seeks to answer is whether the diasporas play a role in forging the development of democracy in Africa. With the aid of a desktop approach that draws on experiences from selected countries, the article maps the way forward in fostering a better Africa’s diaspora continues to play an indispensable role in shaping the continent’s social and political landscape. This impact has been felt since the struggle against colonialism to the contemporary challenges of democratisation. Recent developments in technology and the impact of globalisation have further amplified the power of the diasporas to influence events in their home countries. The trend in response by African governments has ranged from exclusion and isolation to cooperation and collaboration. Many African governments have been open to engagement with diasporas to facilitate financial investments, but have been more circumspect in allowing political participation by the diasporas. Can the diasporas play a positive role in facilitating and aiding Africa’s new impetus towards democratisation or will diasporas further fragment some of their already fragile home countries? This article discusses democracy in sub- Saharan Africa against the backdrop of the peoples’ lived realities, and explores the role of the diasporas in addressing challenges peculiar to the African context. It is argued that diasporas play a significant role in forging the development of democracy in their homelands. The article engages four claims to interrogate this position. First, it contextualises democracy as a reality in Africa. Second, it closely considers the participation by the diasporas. The third aspect involves an evaluation of Africa’s legal and political frameworks, followed by the proposal for a collaborative approach towards the diasporas, to improve democratisation in Africa. As such, the research question that the article seeks to answer is whether the diasporas play a role in forging the development of democracy in Africa. With the aid of a desktop approach that draws on experiences from selected countries, the article maps the way forward in fostering a better relationship between the diasporas and African governments to improve democratic governance, advocating a collaborative approach that is also cognisant of the important role of civil society in reaching the grassroots. The key findings indicate that while governments are open to engagement with the diasporas in the areas of development and investment, this is not the same in the case of political participation. This is based on the disregard of the minority view as used in the Western model of elective democracy. It is hoped that if consensus is used where the majority considers the positions of the minority, the issue of political participation would be greatly harnessed beyond the current trend.
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    The ambivalent role of diaspora engagement for the homeland in the Balkans
    (Global Campus, 2019) Alibašic, Mubina ; Davidović, Emilija ; Kapetanović, Sabiha ; Remiddi, Adriano ; Zejnilović, Edima
    Diasporas have become significant role players in the democratic lives of their countries of origin. Such dynamic is particularly evident in the South East European context, a region characterised in contemporary history by massive movement, displacement and outflow of populations. This article aims at exploring the dichotomies that the diasporas’ political, economic and cultural involvement in the homeland present, including the discourse over its positive and negative features, hence tackling the issue of its potential to give rise to controversy. In fact, in addition to exerting a pro-active role for the democratic and socio-economic development of their home countries, diaspora communities may also embrace antagonistic approaches, countering certain transformation processes, state-building agendas or favouring one elite rule over another. Through a set of cases from the South East European context, the research addresses the regional, therefore global, question of how diaspora groups transnationally participate in the life of their home states, what their objectives are and how they may hinder democratisation processes, acting as incubators or accelerators of – potentially violent – change.
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    Editorial: the influence of diasporas on democracy-building processes: behavioural diversity
    (Global Campus, 2019) Aleksanyan, Arusyak
    Diaspora and democracy: These two phenomena have always aroused the interest of scholars. Indeed, in academic literature various significant research contributions and discussions are focused separately on either diaspora issues or on democracy. This special focus is an attempt to combine these two categories by exploring democratisation through the prism of diasporas’ activities and the other way round – to reveal the influence of democratic changes on diaspora issues. Something that has been less explored in literature is the role of the diaspora in democracybuilding processes. In this context, articles presented in this issue of the Global Campus Human Rights Journal are unique and in various ways fill this gap in the academic literature. The aim of the research in this special thematic focus is to explore the role and influences that diasporas can have on democracy-building processes by identifying diverse behavioural approaches applied in various regions.
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    The influence of diaspora on democracy-building processes
    (Global Campus, 2019) Nowak, Manfred
    Introduction to special focus: The influence of diaspora on democracy-building processes.
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    The political participation of the diaspora of the Middle East and North Africa before and after the Arab uprisings
    (Global Campus, 2019) al-Khulidi, Ali ; D'Hondt, Cedric ; Di Lenna, Maria Teresia ; Sarsar, Chafic ; Taha, Suhail
    The role of the Arab diasporas in the political processes of their home countries has changed significantly since the 2011 uprisings. The article aims to analyse these changes and assess the impact that diasporas have had on the democratisation processes of the post-2011 transitions. It does so by looking at examples of both direct and indirect diasporas’ participation in the politics of their home countries during and after the uprisings through mechanisms such as lobbying, campaigning, national dialogue initiatives, and voting in the parliamentary elections. The background to the social, economic and political contributions of the Arab diasporas before 2011 highlights the multiple identities of the diaspora communities abroad as well as the changes to their inclusion from disputed members of the regimes’ opposition to a more active civil society. With the shifting social and political environment of the last decade, the examples demonstrate the important political role that diasporas could play in cooperation and bridge building, both locally and internationally. However, they also demonstrate the obstacles and severe limitations they face in their inclusion in the governments’ transition to democratic governance. Transnational repression and a negative reception context are limiting factors affecting the ability of diasporas to fully participate as active citizens in both their host and home countries. As an important index for democratisation in the region, the conclusions drawn in the article could offer new perspectives on shaping and constructing regional politics and local regimes. These constitute pressing issues for the future and the evolution of democracy in the region, especially within the post-war reconstruction of countries such as Syria, Libya and Yemen, and the democratic transitions in Tunisia and Egypt.