Peace Research Institute Oslo

Migrants as agents of development: How European diaspora discourse essentialises ‘roots’

London, 12 April 2013

Cindy Horst and Giulia Sinatti

Outline

• Introduction

• ‘Agents of development’: diaspora as a category of mobilization

• European diaspora policy

• European diaspora practice

• Essentializing roots: discourse on bias

(discourse on fragmentation and return discussed in paper as well)

• In conclusion: from ‘diaspora’ to ‘civic’ engagement

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Introduction

• Data from:

– Research on European diaspora policy and practices carried out in 2009-2010

for the DIASPEACE project (funded under the EC 7th Framework program)

– Research assignments conducted between 2010-2012 for the evaluation of

diaspora engagement initiatives undertaken for the Global Forum on Migration

and Development (GFMD), the Governments of France and Switzerland, the

EC funded Joint Migration and Development Initiative (JMDI), the Norwegian

Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) and UNDP

• Paper:

– Co-authored with Giulia Sinatti (ISS)

– Needs input from you: what is new, what do you consider the most interesting

points we are making, and does anyone have a suggestion for a better title?

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Agents of development

• Diasporas as new agents in the development arena: transfers of financial,

social and human capital towards ‘planned’ development

• Transnational communities of a particular kind, characterized by

having experienced movement from an original homeland; a collective myth of

home and strong ethnic group consciousness; a sustained network of social

relationships with group members; and, in some definitions, expectations of

return to the homeland

• ‘Diaspora’ more accurately understood as a category of mobilization

(Dufoix 2008, Kleist 2008, Faist 2012)

• Yet understudied how outsiders mobilize ‘diaspora’ – our research and

paper analyses how European governments and NGOs do this and how

they talk about it

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European diaspora policy

• The EU’s Global Approach to Migration and Mobility (EU Sec 1353 2011)

At both EU and Member States level, the contribution of diaspora

organisations to development policy and practice are increasingly valued. As

initiators of development projects in countries of origin, they have established

themselves as agents for development vis-a-vis both policy makers and donors

• Policy Memorandum on Migration and Development adopted by the Dutch

government (MinBuZa 2008: 54)

Countless migrant organisations are involved in development cooperation,

running a large number of small-scale projects that complement the work of

regular development organisations

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European diaspora practice

• In general, diaspora engagement takes the form of a purposely designed and

overall small portion of work in official development assistance

• Based on similar sets of activities, including

– capacity building and funding schemes for diaspora organizations

– organizational development for platform and umbrella associations

– temporary return programs for qualified individuals

• Main preoccupation is to favor the incorporation of migrants in the

development industry, rather than to strengthen development outcomes

for countries of origin or broaden the industry’s own understanding of

what ‘development’ is

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European diaspora practice

• The concept of development is often synonymous with official development

aid - an undertaking carried out by professionals

• The weight put on ‘the ideas and world of development aid as a distinct

area of practice, conducted by development organizations staffed by

development professionals, and often informed by academics engaged in

development studies’ ignores the fact that such development aid may not

have great significance as a driver of change (Bakewell 2008: 1342-3).

• Who are those ‘doing development’? In a Norwegian current affairs

program on mama Hawa, a Somali-Canadian development worker who

received the Nansen Peace Price, the reporter remarks:

Not a western development worker who does good things in Africa this time,

but one of them, an African woman who helps her own people so that they

can help themselves tomorrow

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Essentializing roots: discourse on bias

• While western development aid is seen to be based on neutral, planned and

rational development processes, people’s engagement with their countries

of origin is understood rather as ‘charity’ or ‘philanthropy’. A government

employee underscores:

There is confusion between development and charity. Many diaspora engage in

charity rather than development. It is important not to look down on charity –

charity is also important. But that is different, and cannot be supported with

development funding

• Diaspora motivations are seen to be influenced by the place and people

their assistance targets, and they are framed in national and ethnic terms

• Such an analysis does not understand the urge to assist in terms of

humanity, or of the wish to help fellow human beings. It rather assumes that

ethnicity is a defining feature of the relationship between helper and helped,

questioning the professionalism and neutrality of such assistance

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Essentializing roots: discourse on bias

I believe that for people who come from conflict stricken areas, it is very

important to make them focus on development in their country of origin rather

than the actual conflict itself....This is why the link to the country of origin in a

wider sense, and not only to one’s own family, is important. It is important to

get people involved in helping others in the country of origin, no matter what

political factions they belong to. I see this as a unique opportunity for them to

learn thinking in a more altruistic way

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From ’diaspora’ to ’civic’ engagement?

• Norwegian White Paper 15 ‘Interests, responsibilities and opportunities.

The main features of Norwegian foreign policy’:

The increase in migration flows and the new “we” offer new opportunities.

Norwegian society will benefit from a policy that utilises the positive effects of

migration, for example through increased participation in foreign policy and

development cooperation. Multiculturalism can be seen as a strategic political

resource. We must be aware that, in future, identities will transcend national

boundaries and that many people will have strong ties to several countries and

communities (MFA 2009: 77)

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In Conclusion

• Theoretical advances on ethnicity, diaspora, transnationalism have not yet

influenced most European diaspora policy and practice

– Ethnicity as constructed, inter-sectionality

– Diaspora as a tool for mobilizing

– Transnational citizens having rights and duties in more than one country

• Development discourse also very essentializing

• Explore replacing ’diaspora and development’ discourse with analysing the

transnational activities of migrants as civic engagement (Horst forthcoming)

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Stakeholders and Neutrality

The fact that the farmers, nurses and teachers that are interested and

experienced stakeholders in educational, health and agricultural policies

’have a vested interest in the content of the government’s final policy

outputs does not disqualify them from participating in the public policy

discussion. Any concerns about entrenched interests are outweighed by

the tacit assumption that agricultural policy will be better as a result of

input received from farmers and economic policy will benefit to some

degree from the input of the banking community’ (Brender et al. 2011:4).

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