Networks Do Not Float Freely: (Dis)entangling the Politics of Tamil Diaspora Inclusion in Development Governance

Main author: Craven, Catherine Ruth
Format: Journal Article           
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id eprints-34833
recordtype eprints
institution SOAS, University of London
collection SOAS Research Online
language English
language_search English
topic JZ International relations
H Social Sciences
J Political Science
description Scholarship on diaspora engagement strategies has suggested that such strategies are embedded either in binary state‐diaspora relations, or global structures of domination. This paper builds on the idea that diaspora engagement is contextually embedded but complicates the understanding of this context, by moving beyond structuralist or state‐centric models. It draws on a range of relational theories, to suggest that diaspora engagement strategies in the development field are contextually embedded in complex entanglements of power relations. Data from a multi‐method study of the Tamil diaspora in Toronto, from 2009 to 2018, reveals that inclusion in these diaspora engagement strategies is shaped by an entanglement of power relations, which include social networks, and legitimacy claims in overlapping cultural fields, but also spatial relations, whereby geography and material resources are often‐overlooked dimensions of this space.
format Journal Article
author Craven, Catherine Ruth
author_facet Craven, Catherine Ruth
authorStr Craven, Catherine Ruth
author_letter Craven, Catherine Ruth
title Networks Do Not Float Freely: (Dis)entangling the Politics of Tamil Diaspora Inclusion in Development Governance
publisher Wiley
publishDate 2021
url https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/34833/