Diaspora Archives - Politics Today https://politicstoday.org/tag/diaspora/ Sun, 06 Dec 2020 09:00:20 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.8 Can Diasporas Ease Tensions in International Politics? https://politicstoday.org/can-diasporas-ease-tensions-in-international-politics/ Sun, 06 Dec 2020 09:00:20 +0000 https://politicstoday.org/can-diasporas-ease-tensions-in-international-politics/

Conflicts around the world are on the rise and immigration waves continue unabated. Diasporas can play roles in global politics. However, for this to happen, diasporas must stop feeling as unwelcomed guests.

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Although the term “diaspora” was widely confined to the Jewish diaspora and experience, with the onset of the 20th century, which saw influxes of various diasporas from different parts of the world, the term started to be used to represent the different experiences of different peoples. These peoples include but are not limited to the Lebanese, Syrian, and Palestinian diasporas in South America, North America, and Europe; the Indian and Chinese diasporas in Malaysia; the Greek and Japanese diasporas in the United States; and the Turkish diaspora in Europe. The meaning the term holds today has shifted emphasis with the advance of international relations, and has taken a new turn in which sophisticated networks of identity-oriented people play a greater role in global politics.

The relationship between different nations today can’t be understood without understanding the identity and diaspora politics that bind them together. The relationship between the United States, on the one hand, and Greece, Mexico, and Ireland, on the other, can’t be viewed in isolation from the existence of the diaspora communities of these countries in the U.S. who hold a considerable economic, political, and cultural weight.

An example of the level of this interconnectedness is the solidarity the Irish hunger strikers received in the U.S. back in the 1980s. The state capital of Connecticut, Hartford, hosts the only monument in the U.S. honoring Bobby Sands, an Irish hunger striker who passed away in 1981 as a result of a 66-day-long hunger strike in a prison in Northern Ireland.

Read: Once Renowned for its Beauty, My Home Today Becomes a Bloody Battleground

This diasporic multigenerational relationship can be seen in terms of economic and political effects in present-day Malaysia. Malaysians of Chinese origin, who make up nearly 24% of the population and who have an influence over a significant portion of the Malaysian economy, are an important pillar in the relationship between China and Malaysia.

The same applies to Malaysian-Indians, who make 7% of the population, with both India and China enjoying good diplomatic relations with Malaysia despite the existence of controversial issues between them such as the issue of Kashmir for India and the South China Sea for China, where China claims parts of what Malaysia considers its territorial waters.

Culturally, and despite the existence of certain tension between Malaysians of different cultural backgrounds, Malaysia today is viewed as a mosaic of races, cultures, languages, and food, contributing to the country’s economic, political and cultural reputation and making it a tourist hub for millions of foreign visitors a year.

Immigrants walking for hope in better future by sunset. Photo by Jasmin Merdan, Getty Images

In the Middle East, immigration waves to the Americas and Europe increased in the beginning of the 19th century. Starting in the 1880s, Palestinian, Syrian, and Lebanese immigrants arrived in South America and the United States. These immigrants built political and economic capital that would shape the history of the countries where they had settled.

Arriving in South America with Ottoman passports, these immigrants were referred to as “Turcos” or Turks, a term that speaks of the passports they held but also of a racist attitude towards immigrants at the time. These immigrants started businesses in the textile sector and trade.

Today, many of these migrants belong to the middle class and have become members of political parties with some of them becoming presidents, ministers, and members of parliament. The traditional wisdom that the first generation of immigrants goes to work, the second generation goes to education, and the third generation goes to action perfectly applies to the Levantine immigrants in South America.

It is estimated that there are 17-30 million South Americans of Middle Eastern origin. In addition to contributing to the cultural fabric of South America, over the years, these immigrants have helped forge good relationships between South America and the Middle East. The involvement of South American governments in Middle Eastern politics today can’t be viewed in isolation from the existence of large numbers of South Americans of Palestinian, Syrian, and Lebanese origins. This joint history can also be witnessed in the existence of Arabic words in South American languages and in culinary traditions that became part of the culture of these countries, such as the popular dish hummus.

South America is also home to a considerable Jewish diaspora, estimated at 250,000, which explains the strong relationship certain countries have with Israel. The rise of right-wing politicians in a number of South American countries also speaks of the centrality of Israel to this trend of right-wing tendencies globally.

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The continuation of immigration from the Middle East, and in particular from Turkey in the 1960s and 1970s, to Europe meant that another diaspora would emerge, one that would be powerful economically, politically, and culturally. Following the signing of agreements between Turkey and a number of Western European governments, such as Germany in 1961, thousands of Turkish workers started their journey towards Europe.

Over time, their numbers in Western Europe increased to 5.5 million and many of them settled in Europe, making their new homes in the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany.

Today, Turkish-European citizens play an important role in the economic, political, cultural, and social ties between the EU and Turkey. They are viewed as an asset to Turkey’s efforts to join the EU, despite the fact that these efforts seem to be on hold for now. Unlike many other diasporas, and due to the short period since its establishment and the proximity of the countries involved, the Turkish diaspora in Europe has strong ties to Turkey. Many Turkish-EU nationals visit Turkey frequently and maintain a strong relationship with the country.

In today’s global politics, diaspora communities play greater roles by serving as bridges of understanding between different nations. They have an exceptional asset – the ability to understand the cultures and politics of both their home and host countries. In addition to enriching the culture of host countries, they can initiate dialogues that could improve international relations between countries and enhance the understanding between different peoples.

In a more cosmopolitan world, where multinational companies play an increasing role in the global economy, and where cultures and languages are constantly merging, it is time to realize the importance of global diasporas in global politics. This is especially true today as conflicts around the world are on the rise and as immigration waves continue unabated.

For this to happen, diasporas must stop feeling as unwelcomed guests and foreign bodies in their adopted countries. The world powers, which preach unity and cosmopolitism, should realize that actions speak louder than words. Considering the potential diasporas have in improving international relations between countries, it is time to tap into this potential without further delay. Global politics today needs more bridges, and diasporas are best placed to answer this need.

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]]> The Turkish Diaspora and the 24 June Elections https://politicstoday.org/the-turkish-diaspora-and-the-24-june-elections/ Wed, 13 Jun 2018 00:57:53 +0000 https://politicstoday.org/the-turkish-diaspora-and-the-24-june-elections/

Loads of rented meeting and conference rooms are getting cancelled in order to prevent programs in favor of, for instance, Turkey’s new system of government. At the same time, unfortunately, HDP supporters, who are very close to and openly sympathize with the PKK, are welcomed on various platforms.

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Since last Thursday, members of the Turkish diaspora all over the world have been going to polls to vote for Turkey’s snap elections to be held on 24 June. There are approximately 3 million Turkish citizens who are able to vote in the elections. As one can guess, 3 million is a number of great importance as it makes up 5 percent of Turkey’s total electorate.

Turks who have been living abroad for over fifty years received the right to vote abroad for the first time during the presidential elections in 2014, when Turks elected their president for the first time through popular vote. Prior to this, it was difficult for most expats to go to Turkish custom gates, which was the only place they could vote during elections. In 2014, only 530 thousand Turks abroad went to the polls due to some organizational problems. However, this number increased during the general elections on 7 June, 2015 up to 1,06 million and to 1,3 million during the snap elections in November of the same year. The number of all diaspora votes all over the world (including the votes casted at Turkish custom gates) also increased to 1,4 million during last years referendum. Interestingly, this is also the number of Turkish voters who live in Germany.

During the last referendum on 16 April 2017, more than 800 thousand Turks living abroad supported Turkey’s constitutional change with “Yes.” Now, the AK Party, for instance, hopes to encourage at least 1 million voters to go to the polls in order to support the party and its presidential candidate. With regard to the previous election results, one notices a certain pattern according to which nearly two thirds of all members of the Turkish diaspora support both the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling party.

By focusing on the 2017 referendum results, for instance, it is striking that 75 percent of the votes in Belgium, 65 percent of the votes in France and 63 percent of the votes in Germany were given in favor of the new system of government. By this, it should be clear that in particular regarding the presidential elections, votes from the Turkish diaspora might be of great importance and even have a decisive meaning. In this sense, the AK Party additionally prepared a special election program for the Turkish diaspora in which the specific needs of Turks abroad are addressed in depth. On the other hand, it’s also an interesting and positive step that the main opposition party also took the diaspora into consideration by addressing it in its general election program – though, being not concrete but rather superficial. Nevertheless, it is a worthy and interesting issue that the diaspora’s ability to change the election results is seriously taken into account, even by opposition circles.

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However, there are unfortunately two issues, which disturb and affect the diaspora in a negative way during election periods. First of all, people living abroad have to face and cannot understand the ban regarding campaign appearances on, for instance, German soil, as has been the case during both the last referendum and even the current 24 June elections. Furthermore, it’s observed that while the campaign ban is strictly executed regarding the AK Party, in particular HDP events, to which PKK supporters and HDP politicians join, are generally tolerated.

The second issue is about the negative behavior of both German officials and even private persons who are biased to obstruct if a relation to the recent Turkish government is noticed. Loads of rented meeting and conference rooms are getting cancelled in order to prevent programs in favor of, for instance, Turkey’s new system of government. At the same time, unfortunately, HDP supporters, who are very close to and openly sympathize with the PKK, are welcomed on various platforms. In this sense, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that even the Green Party MP, Cem Ozdemir publicly supports the Kurdish left-nationalist HDP and has displayed his support by attending the party’s events in Germany.

Nevertheless, these kinds of efforts most probably wouldn’t change most of the diaspora members’ political positions. On the contrary, members of the Turkish diaspora are going to be much more encouraged to vote in accordance with their own standpoints. Thus, it’s definitely a positive step since Turks abroad are also able to vote during elections in the country of which they hold citizenship. While it is not possible for millions of people who live abroad to vote during general or local elections in the country they live in, the right to vote regarding Turkey’s elections thus is perceived more seriously. However, it seems that some native citizens in countries where the Turkish diaspora does exist, develop an increasingly negative attitude regarding Turks’ right to vote, their political preferences, the increasing visibility of the election process and its importance by having an influence on the election results.

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