Diasporas, Development and Peacemaking in the Horn of Africa

Exiled populations, who increasingly refer to themselves as diaspora communities, hold a strong stake in the fate of their countries of origin. In a world becoming ever more interconnected, they engage in 'long-distance politics' towards, send financial remittances to and support social development in their homelands. Transnational diaspora networks have thus become global forces shaping the relationship between countries, regions and continents. This important intervention, written by scholars working at the cutting edge of diaspora and conflict, challenges the conventional wisdom that diaspora are all too often warmongers, their time abroad causing them to become more militant in their engagement with local affairs. Rather, they can and should be a force for good in bringing peace to their home countries. Featuring in-depth case studies from the Horn of Africa, including Somalia and Ethiopia, this volume presents an essential rethinking of a key issue in African politics and development.CONTENTS: Introduction: Diasporas for peace and development - Petri Hautaniemi and Liisa Laakso -- PART ONE: Contextualising the Horn of Africa and the diaspora -- 1. Diaspora and multi-level governance for peace - Liisa Laakso -- 2. Regional political history and the production of diasporas - Guenther Schlee -- PART TWO: Case studies from the Horn of Africa -- 3. Rebuilding Somaliland through economic and educational engagement - Markus Virgil Hoehne and Mohamed Hassan Ibrahim -- 4. The Somali diaspora in conflict and peacebuilding: the Peace Initiative Programme - Mahdi Abdile -- 5. The 2007 delegation of the Muslim diaspora to Ethiopia - Dereje Feyissa -- 6. The Ethiopian diaspora and the Tigray Development Association - Bahru Zewde, Gebre Yntiso and Kassahun Berhanu -- PART THREE: European approaches to diaspora engagement -- 7. Interaction between Somali organizations and Italian and Finnish development actors - Petra Mezzetti, Valeria Saggiomo and Päivi Pirkkalainen -- 8. Approaches to diaspora engagement in the Netherlands - Giulia Sinatti -- 9. Norwegian collaboration with diasporas - Rojan Ezzati and Cindy Horst -- Afterword - Petri Hautaniemi, Liisa Laakso and Mariko Sato