Linkages and Divides: Global Minority Groups and the Internet

Research and Event Summaries

Event Summary:

On Thursday, January 30, the GW Center for the Study of Globalization (GWCSG) kicked off its annual Globalization Brown Bag series with a discussion entitled "Linkages and Divides: Global Minority Groups and the Internet," featuring Lori Brainard and Jennifer Brinkerhoff, Assistant Professors of Public Administration. These talks, held monthly, provide a forum for all members of the GW community to discuss interesting topics and issues in globalization.

A great deal of academic investigation has been conducted into information technology, global migration, and globalization. However, until now, little attention has been paid to where these subjects intersect. Remedying this oversight are the research efforts of Professors Brainard and Brinkerhoff. Their GWCSG-sponsored project, entitled Digital Diasporas, Identity, and International Policy Processes—(DIP)2, presently considers how the Internet affords diasporas new opportunities to connect with their cultural home territories. In particular, this research focuses upon the web presences of Afghan expatriates.

For several months, the research team led by Professors Brainard and Brinkerhoff, they explained on Thursday, has been investigating the "Afghanistan Online" web site. Participants in this site discuss topics ranging from Islam, to recipes, to the future of their country. In doing so, they are effectively negotiating what it means to be an Afghan abroad today. The direction of the dialogue is fluid—it can easily be transformed within an hour—but it is gradually shaping norms about life in the Afghan expatriate community. The presenters admitted that they cannot be certain that everybody involved in the online debated genuinely has ties to the Afghan community. However, discussants are typically extremely adept at rooting out imposters.

Online communities often do not conform to political boundaries or identities. For instance, many of the Afghans engaged in online debate about their homeland will have left Afghanistan years ago.

When asked how this research can contribute to future endeavors, the speakers suggested that it can be used for public administration purposes, among others. For instance, networks such as the Afghan web site have the potential to be an extremely effective means of providing isolated, marginal groups with public goods and services.

Professors Brainard and Brinkerhoff's next research undertaking will be an analysis of Egypt's Christian Copt minority.

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