Authoritarian states and their new generation(s) diasporas: an introduction

Abstract

This special issue explores the complex dynamics between authoritarian states and their new generation(s) diasporas. It examines the strategies employed by non-democratic regimes to engage with and control their diaspora populations, particularly focusing on the youth and subsequent generations who have grown up outside their ancestral homelands. The contributions highlight the various approaches of a wide range of cases, including China, North Korea, Rwanda, Burundi, Eritrea, Egypt, Turkey and Bosnia and Hercegovina. This introduction situates the special issue in the broader literature on state-diaspora relations, elaborates on key concepts and presents a summary of the main conclusions from the special issue as a whole. It notes the variation between states that explicitly and relatively successfully engage their new generation(s) diaspora and those that encounter difficulties doing so, and draws attention to the agency of diaspora youth in shaping their relationships with authoritarian or less-democratic homeland states.