Diasporas and Development: a marriage of convenience or true love?

Oliver Bakewell (QEH, Oxford)

Abstract

Over the last decade, there has been a surge of academic and policy interest in the role of ‘diasporas’ in the process of development. There have been many new initiatives from governments and development organisations to co-opt diasporas into existing development practice. However, these tend to assume that diasporas and the ‘development industry’ share a common set of interests and aspirations. In challenging this assumption, this paper addresses the following questions. Who is included within these diasporas? Why should they be expected to contribute to development? What is the nature of this ‘development’ in which diasporas now seen to play such a central role?

Organiser: Centre for Migration and Diaspora Studies

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