Research Programs: The Role of Diasporas in Developing the Homeland

Presenting research on diasporas

Overview

In today's world, people cross international borders in numbers unimagined previously. Some see these movements as cause for alarm, particularly after September 11, 2001. Indeed, research shows that diasporas substantially impact the risk of renewed conflict; after five years of post-conflict peace, the presence of diasporas increases the likelihood of renewed conflict six-fold. However, migration can offer opportunities, as well as challenges, in the search for ways to achieve a more peaceful world. Governments, international organizations, and donors increasingly recognize diasporas as important actors in peace and conflict and development, but policymakers have few, if any, guidelines or formal policies on how best to incorporate diasporas into peace and development strategies. A lack of understanding of the nature of these contributions, how to mobilize them, and the circumstances that are most likely to yield positive results hamper policymakers' ability to tap this expanding resource.

Director

Jennifer M. Brinkerhoff
Associate Professor of Public Administration, International Affairs, and International Business

Topics

This research program will investigate diasporas' potential contributions in terms of economic development, social and political development, and conflict prevention and mitigation. Topics to be addressed include:

• Economic remittances, with a focus on how to organize these into productive investments for homeland development
• Transnational entrepreneurism and foreign direct investment, exploring how diaspora members, driven by their homeland identity, are taking risks to contribute to employment and economic development in their homelands
• Repatriation for the purpose of contributing to homeland reconstruction, and social, economic, and political development
• Home town associations and community development, investigating the efforts of diasporas to move beyond economic remittances to their own development programming
• Participation in the development industry as it relates to the reconstruction and/or development of their homelands (e.g., working with donor agencies or donor-funded projects and programs); and conflict prevention, mitigation, and post-conflict reconstruction

Recent Events

Conference Materials

Conference Presentations

Welcome and Introduction

Conference Welcome Remarks
Jennifer Brinkerhoff, Associate Professor, Public Administration & International Affairs, and Conference Organizer

Part I—Setting the Stage: Diaspora Scope & Significance

Diaspora and Development: Some Considerations
Manuel Orozco, Inter-American Dialogue

Organizational Dimensions of the Afghan Diaspora in the United States: Before and After Homeland Crisis
Janelle Kerlin, Ph.D, Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy, The Urban Institute

The Impact of Diasporas on the Construction of Homeland National Identity
Yossi Shain, Professor of Comparative Government and Diaspora Politics and Director of the Center for Jewish Civilization, Georgetown University; Professor of Political Science and Head of the Hartog School of Government, Tel Aviv University

Part II—Diasporas and At-Risk, Conflict, and Post-Conflict Societies

Where in the World is Liberia? Diasporas as Political and Economic Forces in Post-Conflict Transitions
Stephen Lubkemann, Assistant Professor of Anthropology & International Affairs, George Washington University

Diasporas and Development Projects: The Case of the Local Governance Program in Iraq
Derick W. Brinkerhoff and Samuel Taddesse, Research Triangle Institute

Diaspora Philanthropy in an At-Risk Society: The Case of Coptic Orphans in Egypt
Jennifer Brinkerhoff, George Washington University

Keynote Address

Thamel.com: Tapping the Synergy of Diaspora Identity, Entrepreneurism, and Family Support
Bal Joshi, Founder, Thamel.com
Discussant: Manuel Orozco, Director of Remittances and Development, Inter-American Dialogue; Research Professor, George Washington University (starting Fall 2006)

Part III—Remittances and Diaspora Private Sector Development

Diaspora Investments and Economic Development of their Former Homelands
Milton Esman, Professor Emeritus, Department of Government, Cornell University
To be presented by Deborah Trent, Doctoral Student, GW School of Public Policy and Public Administration

Diaspora Support for Business Development in Armenia: Examining Paradigms of Social Entrepreneurship
Kate Gillespie and Anna Andriasova, University of Texas at Austin

Homeland Export and Investment Promotion Programs for the Diaspora: The Case of Afghanistan
Liesl Riddle and Valentina Marano, The George Washington University, School of Business

Part IV—Tapping Diaspora Resources for Development

From Transferring to Transforming Remittances: Emigration and Infrastructure Reform in Morocco, 1985-2005
Natasha Iskander, New York University

Promoting Knowledge Exchange through Diasporas
Clay Wescott, Asia Pacific Governance Institute

Tracing the Diaspora's Involvement in the Development of a Nation: The Case of Dominica
Thomson Fontaine, International Monetary Fund

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