Hybridising diasporic resistance to homeland peacebuilding: a case study of UK Sudanese activists and Sudanese peace

Abstract

This article discusses what motivates diasporas to resist homeland peacebuilding using the case of the UK-based Sudanese diaspora. It identifies the need to analyse diasporic resistance against a framework of hybrid peacebuilding and local resistance. In hybrid frameworks, resistance is not necessarily motivated by ‘anti-peace’ intentions but can be part of attempts to secure peace. This investigation examines the two key peacebuilding strategies in Sudan during 2014; the National Dialogue and internationally-led civil society building, both of which were subject to considerable resistance at the local level in Sudan. Applying an analytical framework of hybridity and using empirical material from interviews with UK-based Sudanese activists, the article asks why these processes were resisted by the diaspora and to what extent these motivations build on, resonate with, or subvert local resistance(s). The findings show that motivations behind diasporic resistance to homeland peacebuilding matches with local resistance in relation to the National Dialogue. However, in relation to international peacebuilding, the diasporic resistance diverged from the local in several key ways. Through contextualising diasporic resistance against hybrid peace and local resistance, the paper contributes to a hybrid understanding of diasporic resistance during homeland peacebuilding.