University of Helsinki
Liisa Laakso: New approaches in (im)migration and transnational studies
Policy approaches on immigration are no more centred only on multiculturalism and migrants’ integration in their host societies, but also on their roles and impacts in transnational contexts. Partly this reflects contemporary discourse on security, which has become increasingly intertwined with human mobility. In the counter-terrorism policy thinking, immigrants or refugees coming from conflict areas are seen as potential security threats to their host countries. They can “import” wars from their home regions in the form of clashes between subgroups of one migrant group or attacks against diplomats or other official representatives of “conflict parties” and their assumed allies. Or they can take part in a more abstract and ideological struggle against global injustices where the prosperous and culturally dominant West appears to be the natural enemy. Yet most of the recent terrorism-related charges brought against migrants in Europe concern attacks outside Europe or the planning of such attacks and recruitment of “foreign fighters”.
Many roles of migrants
New approaches stem also from the more general features of globalisation: human communication across long distances is faster and easier than ever before. This includes physical travel, media coverage, mobile and Internet connections, as well as money transfers. In 2013, for instance, according to the World Bank, remittances sent by migrants to developing countries totalled 404 billion USD, which is more than twice the amount of net official development assistance (ODA) of 134.8 billion USD. For some recipient countries, remittances can represent up to one third of their GDP.
The multiple and complex roles of (im)migrants, both as global development and security challenges are concerned, also forms a research agenda for many academic disciplines. Looking into the multi-level agency of migrants integrates studies of conflict prevention and resolution, development, ethnic, religious or national identity, as well as citizenship with the study of political transnationalism. The FP7-funded project DIASPEACE and the project funded by the Academy of Finland titled “Security, governance and identities in flux: The role of diaspora in development in the Horn of Africa” are examples of such multidisciplinary projects (see Laakso & Hautaniemi ed. 2014).
Revival of the notion of diaspora
First of all this research contributes to analytical conceptualization. The notion of “diaspora” has seen a revival in social science literature and has been debated much beyond such generalised characterisations as Benedict Anderson’s notion of “long-distance nationalists”. The idea of “exile”, as associated with the diaspora experience, grasps important aspects of the self-identification of communities that hold a distinct stake in the developments of their home regions. Another example is the definition of remittances. In addition to money and material investments “remittances” can also refer to human and political inputs contributing to innovations and social reforms.
Secondly an appropriate methodology for multisited diaspora activities involves studying them in their countries of origin, in host states, and also at the transnational level. In such a framework attention can be focused on the concrete work of diaspora organizations and individuals in the peace and development processes in their home regions and on the interaction between various stakeholders.
Thirdly new research questions contribute to theory-building. To the extent that diaspora shapes the interaction and inter-dependencies between countries, regions and continents, they are global level actors that need to be recognized in global governance and on the policy level too. This also relates to how diaspora affairs spread to or fall between established policy sectors (interior, security, foreign etc.) as well as to the competencies of governmental and intergovernmental authorities. New cross-sectoral policy instruments are created, like the EU’s General Program of Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows (SOLID), which promotes so called “voluntary return”. The implementation of such initiatives needs to be critically evaluated and studied, as is well recognized by authorities. An example of this kind of research is a study on return migration in Somaliland and Iraqi Kurdistan, which was commissioned by the Finnish Ministry of Interior at the Department of Political and Economic Studies in 2013, (see Hautaniemi, Juntunen and Sato, 2013).
Research evidence and policy coherence
And finally empirical research findings and evidence can enhance policy coherence or at least point to potentially problematic aspects in intended peace building and development interventions. For instance, financial remittances can provide resources for economic growth or recovery, which instigates regulations to channel them to productive investments. And yet in many cases they form inherently private resources for survival and social security, which as a system can easily be destabilised by formal control. A third angle pays attention to patterns of new kinds of economic dependency discouraging local level entrepreneurship or employment, for instance.
Similarly it is not self-evident which activities might be mitigating or on the contrary aggravating conflicts. A traditional perspective looks at diaspora’s support to conflict parties either directly in terms of finances or logistics – today also as “foreign fighters” – or indirectly as ideological and political interference or lobbying in the international arena and in the host countries. Support to warring parties from the diaspora can effectively undermine local peace building efforts.
However, there is already systematic research done on diaspora’s involvement in reconciliation, state-building and democratisation.
The special case of failed state
Somalia as a “failed state”, for instance, has witnessed a strong diaspora engagement in practically all spheres of public life. Diaspora is building schools and universities, running hospitals, investing in private businesses, publishing newspapers, taking part in the political process etc. By the same token the role of diaspora is pivotal in fostering shared identities and the respect of human rights. Interestingly, many Western donor agencies are headed by members of the diaspora in Somalia. Diaspora has been identified as an important resource for foreign policy on humanitarian aid, development and peace building.
By making their cooperation with diaspora and local actors institutionalized and legal, international actors efficiently bypass the level of the sovereign nation state, the key actor of the “official” international system. This involves important questions of legitimacy, representativeness and accountability, as well.
A multisited approach enables an identification of the conditions and policy models in host countries that, in addition to the conflict setting and conflict phase, help to understand the different roles diaspora can have. In Europe for instance, the possibilities and incentives of diaspora to establish organizations vary, as do their economic, political, and social opportunities. Furthermore generational differences and gender resonate in attitudes towards homeland engagement.
Liisa Laakso and Petri Hautaniemi ed. (2014) Diasporas, Development and Peacemaking in the Horn of Africa, Zed books.
Petri Hautaniemi, Marko Juntunen and Mariko Sato “Return Migration and Vulnerability: Case Studies from Somaliland and Iraqi Kurdistan” Development Studies, Department of Political and Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences University of Helsinki 2013.