Political Crisis and Diaspora Enfranchisement by Democracies and Non-democracies

• In Event: Migration "Crises": Determinants and Consequences of Politicization

Abstract

This paper aims to explore how major political crises - institutional changes with disruptive effects for political processes - in non-democracies and democratizing states are associated with the politicization of their emigrant communities. States seek recognition and legitimation of domestic political processes abroad. They also create ties with their diaspora as a mechanism of monitoring and control. Both major crises and subsequent rights extensions motivate the diaspora to seek opportunities for political activity. Diasporic “entrepreneurs" capitalize on this political activation to mobilize members at the fault lines of home country politics. Diaspora engagement with host country politics simultaneously continues to make home country politics salient. This paper argues that an autocratic response to crisis leads to restricted, contained, and largely symbolic diaspora enfranchisement by the home state. On the other hand, a democratic response to crisis leads to expansive, inclusive, and empowering diaspora enfranchisement by the home state. After broadly examining how crises affect the likelihood of diasporic enfranchisement by democracies compared to non-democracies, the paper provides a closer comparative case analysis of how Egypt and Tunisia witnessed discursive bargaining over the notion of extraterritorial citizenship and political rights. This project attempts to examine how these developments increasingly reveal the contentious politics of activating and deactivating diaspora communities.

Author

• Ahmed Khattab, Georgetown University