Transnational lives in the shadow of repression

What is the project about?

This project investigates the role of the second generation, the children of migrants, in what one might call the global struggle for democracy. Authoritarianism is, alongside armed conflict, a key factor for forced migration, and non-democratic regimes increasingly seek to stifle dissent not only within but increasingly also across borders. Given the special position of the second generation –having roots in at least two countries–, this project aims to better understand how authoritarian regimes engage with or control their second generation diasporas, as well as the ways in which these youths either support or resist them.

The research team will map four authoritarian states’ strategies for engaging their young generation abroad by analyzing policy documents and conducting interviews. Subsequently, the research team will study the young generations’ motivations, opportunities and obstacles for either supporting or resisting the authoritarian regimes in their parents’ homelands.

Research questions

• What strategies do repressive states employ to mobilize and/or control their second generation diasporas?
• What are the motives, opportunities and obstacles for second generation diasporas to mobilize in support of repressive government of their homeland?
• What are the motives, opportunities and obstacles for second generation diasporas to mobilize against repression in their respective homeland states?

The project is designed as a qualitative comparative case study of four authoritarian states in Africa and the Middle East with sizable diasporas. Whilst taking its point of departure in the Swedish context, the project identifies relevant groups, organizations and initiatives in Sweden, Europe and the world. The researchers will analyze policy documents and other documentation, as well as conduct interviews with relevant actors.

Project participants

This is a collaborative project between the School of Global Studies (SGS), University of Gothenburg, and the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Hamburg. SGS, which hosts the project, has a strong tradition of research on democratization, social movements and migration. A Center for Global Migration is placed at SGS and functions as a resource and hub for research and policy dialogue on migration in Gothenburg. The project’s three researchers have extensive experience of research on the project cases.

Publications

Special issue of Globalizations:

Orjuela, C., Wackenhut A. F., Hirt, N. (forthcoming). Authoritarian states and their new generation(s) diasporas: an introduction.

Baser, B., & Böcü, G. (2024). Youth responses to state-manufactured diaspora mobilization: Turkey’s diaspora governance and the politics of selective engagement. External link.

Ding, S. (2024). Changing Diasporic Identity and Increasing Global Backlash: China’s Challenges of Engaging Young Generation Overseas Chinese in the Post-pandemic Era. External link.

Féron, É. (2023). ‘Throwing in my two cents’: Burundian diaspora youth between conventional and transformative forms of mobilization. External link.

Hirt, N. (2023). ‘My parents told me to love my country’: positionalities of second-generation diaspora Eritreans in a transnational setting. External link.

Lee, J., & Dukalskis, A. (2024). Reaching for the past: North Korea’s engagement with Koreans in Japan. External link.

Moftizadeh, S. (2024). From society to cyberspace: contentions with authoritarianism amongst second-generation Kurdish students in London. External link.

Karabegović, D. (2024). Fixing things from the outside? Diaspora politicians and transnational political engagement. External link.

Orjuela, C. (2023). The ‘ideal citizen’abroad: engaging Rwanda’s young generation diaspora. External link.

Wackenhut, A. F. (2024). Between (de-)mobilization, polarization, and transnational repression: the Egyptian diaspora in the wake of the January 25 uprising. External link.

Other academic publications:

Hirt, N. & A.S. Mohammad (2024). How Diasporas Contribute to Authoritarian Governance: The case of Eritrea, in Moss, D. and S. Furstenberg (eds.) Transnational Repression in the Age of Globalisation, Edinburgh University Press, 165-184.

Hirt, N. (2024). The Long Shadow of the Eritrean Independence Struggle: Transgenerational transmission of trauma across diaspora generations, in Kromják, L. & A. Karamehić-Muratović (eds.): Intergenerational Trauma in Refugee Communities. Routledge.

Wackenhut, A. F. (2024). Tracing Shifting Host Country Problematization(s) of Transnational Repression: The Evolution of Swedish Efforts to Counter “Refugee Espionage.” Democracy and Security, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/17419166.2024.2360891 External link.

Wackenhut, A.F., Orjuela, C. (2023). Engaging the next generation: authoritarian regimes and their young diaspora. Eur Polit Sci 22, 143–158. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41304-022-00409-2 External link.

Orjuela, C. (2023). Diaspora Memory Conflicts: Struggles over Genocide Commemoration, Recognition and Denial. Ethnopolitics, 22(4), 453–470. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449057.2023.2199599 External link.

Wackenhut, A. F. (2022). On the Receiving End of Diaspora Engagement Policies: Evidence from the Turkish Diaspora in Sweden. Middle East Critique, 31(4), 371–384. https://doi.org/10.1080/19436149.2022.2132194 External link.

Hirt, Nicole & Eden Mengis (2022). Eritreer*innen in der Diaspora: der Einfluss des eritreischen Regimes und regimetreue Strukturen in Deutschland. In Randi Becker & Philipp W. Kranemann (eds.): Endlich in Sicherheit?, 73-100.

Hirt, N. & A. S. Mohammad (2022). The Limits of Diaspora: Double Vulnerabilities among Eritreans in Saudi Arabia. In Dalia Abdelhady & Ramy Aly (eds.): Routledge Handbook on Middle Eastern Diasporas, 78-88.

Hirt, N. (2022). Thirty Years of Autocratic Rule: Eritrea’s President Isaias Afewerki between innovation and destruction. In J-N Bach (ed.): Routledge Handbook of the Horn of Africa, 317-326.

Orjuela, C. (2022). Navigating labels, seeking recognition for victimhood: Diaspora activism after mass-atrocities. Global Networks 22(1): 166-179. https://doi.org/10.1111/glob.12337. External link.

Karabegovic, D. & C. Orjuela (2022). Diasporas in peace and conflict, in O. Richmond & G. Visoka (eds.): The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Peace and Conflict Studies.

Hirt, N. (2021). Eritrea’s Chosen Trauma and the Legacy of the Martyrs: The Impact of Postmemory on Political Identity Formation of Second-Generation Diaspora Eritreans. Africa Spectrum. 56(1):19-38. doi:10.1177/0002039720977495. External link.

Hirt, N. & A. S. Mohammad (2021). Eritrea’s self-reliance narrative and the remittance paradox: Reflections on thirty years of retrogression. Remittances Review. 6(1). https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/bitstream/handle/document/80692/ssoar-remittr-2021-1-hirt_et_al-Eritreas_self-reliance_narrative_and_the.pdf?sequence=1 External link.

Orjuela, C. (2020). Passing on the torch of memory: Transitional justice and the transfer of diaspora identity across generations, International Journal of Transitional Justice, 14(2): 360–380, https://doi.org/10.1093/ijtj/ijaa005. External link.

Wackenhut, A. (2020). Understanding Protest Diffusion: The Case of the Egyptian Uprising of 2011. Palgrave McMillan.

Popular science publications:

Hajdini, F. (2023). Non-resident, non-citizen voting in Kosovo. School of Blogal Studies, https://www.blogalstudies.com/post/non-resident-non-citizen-voting-in-kosovo External link.

Hirt, N. (2021). Forced Migration from Eritrea and Regime Stabilization, MAGYC Policy Brief, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352057244_Forced_Migration_from_Eritrea_and_Regime_Stabilization External link.

Orjuela, C. (2020). Unga tamiler i diasporan engagerar sig för rättvisa i Sri Lanka, Sydasien, https://sydasien.se/reportage/unga-tamiler-i-diasporan-engagerar-sig-for-rattvisa-i-sri-lanka/. External link.