The involvement of Eritrean diaspora communities in conflict and post-conflict reconstruction in Eritrea dates back to the times of the struggle for independence. The transnational ties between the former liberation fronts and the Eritrean state have been very close ever since. This paper describes the modes and potential of diaspora engagement in Eritrea, focussing especially on recent developments in Eritrean diaspora communities worldwide since 2000. It seeks to describe the specific political, social and economic conditions in Eritrea that provide a framework for the engagement of exiled communities as well as Eritrean policies, which target specifically Eritrean communities abroad. It further aims to describe the various patterns of diaspora engagement in Eritrea, differentiating between individual and organised diaspora activities by tentatively taking into account the potential impacts of these activities on Eritrean society and policies. The focus of the analysis on the last decade is based on the assumption that the Ethio-Eritrean war (1998?2000) has had a major impact not only on civil society in Eritrea but also on organisational patterns among Eritrean diaspora communities. While the right of freedom to association in Eritrea has been further curtailed since 2001, the diaspora communities experienced diversification and the emergence of new civil society organisations following an increase in refugee movements. Further research is required to determine whether these developments in the diaspora communities affect Eritrean civil society and encourage the revitalisation of civil society organisations in Eritrea. The paper draws on the recent pertinent literature on Eritrean exile communities as well as on preliminary findings of the ongoing DIASPEACE research project. Read more....

DIASPEACE Working Papers No 4, 2010, Somaliland’s Investment in Peace: Analysing the Diaspora’s Economic Engagement in Peace Building.

Diaspora members have been influencing the issue of peace and conflict in Somaliland through various mechanisms. The diaspora can have either negative or positive effects on peace processes in the home country, but the prevailing literature tends to concentrate on the negative effects, such as their role in perpetuating and funding conflict. In this study I have presented empirical data on how trans-national economic engagements in the countries of origin have positive impacts on peace building. The analysis illustrates two issues. First, in terms of their role and position in peace building, the engagement of the diaspora in their home country has been very diverse. It is important to differentiate between long distance involvements from making concrete investments in the country of origin. The former type of involvement, which mainly consists of contributing funding to projects and sending remittances, means the diaspora have less direct stake in the peace-building process, so their negative potential to become spoilers outweighs their potential for conflict transformation. Second, direct economic and social investments of the diaspora in the homeland give them a direct stake in the issues of peace and conflict. Consequently, their personal roles in economic and social activities have the potential to promote conflict transformation. Having invested their money, knowledge and time in a post-conflict or risky area, the diaspora can turn into peacemakers for the sake of saving their huge investments. Their investments in and of themselves also have the potential to have direct implications on peace. The two hotels are two examples of how the diaspora, by making a large investment of their own resources but not necessarily for creating a return on their investment, has built peace or contributed to peace by reducing inequity in Hargeisa between the north and south sides of the city and thus changed the balance of power between the clans represented on each side.  Read more .....

DIASPEACE Working Papers No 5, 2010, Diasporic engagement in the educational sector in post-conflict Somaliland: A contribution to peacebuilding?

This working paper provides a background to the rebuilding of the educational sector in Somaliland, which had been completely destroyed during the civil war, developed again from very modest beginnings in the early 1990s, and includes manifold offers up to tertiary education a decade later. Arguably, the educational boom in the country is part of the second phase of peacebuilding, which began around 1997 and still continues. It involves extensive diasporic investments in the form of economic and social remittances. The case-study section in the second half of the paper presents two universities founded by diaspora and local actors. These universities are located in quite different regions of Somaliland. Jamacadda Geeska (International Horn University) in Hargeysa, the capital of Somaliland, is embedded in an economically striving and peaceful environment. Jamacadda Nugaal (Nugaal University) in Laascaanood is located in a politically contested and economically underdeveloped area. The differently located case studies have been chosen to outline a more nuanced picture of the relation between diasporic engagement in the educational – particularly the tertiary – sector and sustainable peace. The different conditions in the two places help to understand in how far ‘external factors’, such as politics of recognition (on the side of Somaliland) and long-distance-nationalism, influence this relation. The study concludes that, on the one hand, diasporic engagement in education up to the tertiary sector has a peacebuilding effect in so far as it provides opportunities for a peaceful and potentially prosperous future for many youngsters and facilitates the transnational exchange of ideas and visions related to social development and tolerance. On the other hand, however, follow-up prospects for most graduates are currently missing. The structural transformation from a war-torn to a peaceful society in Somaliland, to which the re-building of the educational sector can contribute, is endangered by unemployment, poverty, and a lack of government planning.  Read more...

DIASPEACE Working Papers No. 6, 2010, Engagement Dynamics between Diasporas and Settlement Country Institutions: Somalis in Italy and Finland.

This study presents a comparative work on engagement dynamics occurring between the Somali diaspora and authorities in two countries of settlement, namely Italy and Finland. The analysis focuses on cooperation dynamics, on the one hand looking at how ‘external actors’ (governmental and non governmental) attempt to engage diaspora in development and peacebuilding in Somalia, and on the other hand how the diaspora attempts to get support from external actors for their efforts in development and peacebuilding in the country of origin.

The cross country comparison between Somali diaspora engagement strategies in Italy and Finland responds to the following three research questions:

1. Which actors and opportunities can be identified in diasporas’ engagement dynamics in Italy and Finland?

2. Have different opportunities in the countries of settlement shaped diasporas’ engagement towards the country of origin and if so, how?

3. Have similar dynamics, partnerships and strategies been observed in these two settlement countries?  Read more...

DIASPEACE Working Papers No.7, 2010, Diasporas and their Role in the Homeland Conflicts and Peacebuilding: The Case of Somali Diaspora.

Members of the Somali diaspora can make and have been making significant contributions to developments in their home country. But they can also play a negative role. Drawing on the interviews with the Somali diaspora, this paper examines both positive and negative role of the diaspora in Somalia/Somaliland, as well as the restrictions created by the local context of operation in the country of origin. Lack of security makes both diaspora involvement and related research challenging: Somalia’s civil war has divided the country into clan enclaves and due to the continuing clan rivalries and hostilities it is difficult to establish or verify diaspora engagement in areas outside the main cities, such as Hargeisa, Bosaso, and Buro. The situation is even more difficult in the South-Central region, which is practically inaccessible. Read more...

DIASPEACE Working Papers No.8, 2011, Contribution of the Ethiopian Diaspora to Peace-Building: A Case Study of the Tigrai Development Association.

The paper is organized into five major parts. The first section presents some perspectives on peace-building and development. After examining the link between the two, the study will give particular focus to education and health, two prime areas of engagement of the case study presented. The section will conclude with an examination of the context under which NGOs have operated in Ethiopia, including the challenges that the new legislation adopted in February 2009 poses for them. The second section will outline the historical evolution of diaspora engagement in homeland affairs, drawing particular attention to the more intense interactions of the twentieth century and winding up with a look at the role of the Ethiopian diaspora in peace-building and conflict. The third section presents a global survey of the Tigray Development Association (TDA), which is the case selected for study. This is followed by a more detailed examination of TDA activities. The final section examines some critical issues relative to TDA operations, including local knowledge of the organization, popular participation in its operations and perceptions on TDA-TPLF relations. Read more...

DIASPEACE Working Papers No.9, 2011, Setting a Social Reform Agenda, The Peacebuilding Dimension of the Rights Movement of the Ethiopian Muslims Diaspora.

The paper examines how the Ethiopian Muslim diaspora organizations have contributed to religious peacebuilding and to the democratization of the Ethiopian polity through non-violent means of asserting religious rights. The paper is divided into seven sections. Section one presents the legal framework for diasporic actions in Ethiopia. Section two introduces the analytical framework within which the rights movement of the Ethiopian Muslim diaspora is made intelligible. After critiquing the notion of ‘long distance nationalism’, the paper calls for a more differentiated view of the diaspora and cautions the casual use of the term ‘conflict’ as a negative label by indicating its potential transformative power. Section three provides an overview of the major religious groups in Ethiopia. Section four briefly summarizes the socio-political marginalization of Islam in Ethiopia. Section five discusses religious reforms in Ethiopia, with a special reference to the new fields of possibilities for Muslims as citizens while at the same time pointing out the enduring constraints. Section six describes at length and analyses the activities of the Ethiopian Muslim diaspora. Section seven makes concluding remarks on the Ethiopian Muslims rights movement - of which the diaspora is part - with a special reference to its peacebuilding dimensions.  Read more...