Flexible politics of belonging

When states attempt to mobilize diaspora groups for development contributions, they articulate a politics of belonging that emphasize diaspora belonging to and responsibility for the ancestral ‘homeland’. These politics, however, are flexible, depending on the desired relationship between the state and the diaspora group, the types of involvement, and the state’s extension of rights and services to the group.

In the new article ‘Flexible Politics of Belonging: Diaspora mobilization in Ghana’, Nauja Kleist examines this issue in the case of Ghana. She analyzes how the Ghanaian state has been involved in diaspora mobilization since independence, drawing upon different politics of belonging. Ghanaian diaspora mobilization refers to the legacy of mid-century political Pan-Africanism, addressing the descendants of the transatlantic slave trade as partners in global struggles against colonialism. From the 1990s, however, the African diaspora has mainly been targeted as heritage tourists. Furthermore the Pan-Africanist legacy has merged with the global trend of diaspora-development policies and their emphasis on economic contributions to national development from contemporary transnational migrants.

Finally Kleist argues that though the many diaspora mobilization efforts have resulted in limited political change and few implemented initiatives, they constitute attempts to make diaspora populations governable. They thereby have value as political spectacles where the state demonstrates that it takes its responsibility as a migrant-sending state seriously. State mobilization of diaspora groups thus not only co-constitutes diasporas as development agents and as subjects for governance, they also signal the position of a pro-active and inclusive state.

The article is part of a special issue on African diasporas and the state in the journal African Studies.