Abstract This study examines Indonesia’s efforts to protect the educational rights of children of nonprocedural Indonesian migrant workers in East Malaysia, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak states. Although existing studies emphasise non-state actors and alternative education initiatives, limited attention has been paid to how Indonesia’s diplomatic strategies operate within a broader diaspora governance framework. This study addresses this gap by analysing the role of soft power diplomacy in expanding access to education for undocumented migrant children. Using a qualitative descriptive approach based on semistructured interviews, document analysis and internet-based sources, the findings show that Indonesia has implemented key initiatives, including the establishment of Sekolah Indonesia Kota Kinabalu, community learning centres, nonformal education programmes and repatriation scholarships. However, these efforts face structural and administrative constraints. This study advances inclusive Indonesian foreign policy and strengthens cross-border cooperation to protect the educational rights of undocumented migrant children.
Abstract This paper examines the ethical complexities surrounding the representation and memorialisation of Girmitiyas, Indian indentured labour employed in a system that operated in Fiji from 1879 to 1916. It examines how the history of these labourers continues to generate ethical dilemmas for contemporary Fijian society, in relation to historical justice, collective memory and intercommunal reconciliation. The paper is a conceptual and interpretive contribution: rather than reporting new empirical or archival findings, it develops a systematic ethical framework through a critical synthesis of the historiography of indenture, memory and trauma theory and transitional justice scholarship. Its central claim is that the Girmitiya experience cannot be adequately addressed by importing frameworks developed for other traumatic pasts. The paper concludes that ethical engagement with the Girmitiya past requires an approach that acknowledges suffering while enabling intergenerational healing and social cohesion in Fiji’s multicultural context, and it derives six principles to guide representation, commemoration and policy.
Abstract This narrative study examines how Georgian migrants in Germany negotiate values, identity, integration and belonging across generations and gender. Drawing on 50 semistructured narrative interviews conducted in 2021 and 2023, the study identifies five interconnected dimensions of migration: value negotiation; personal agency; emotional integration; hybrid identity; and homeland as a symbolic space of belonging. The findings suggest that migration is experienced not as a linear process of adaptation but as an ongoing negotiation between continuity and change. Participants combined family responsibility and cultural continuity with increasing autonomy, independence and self-reliance. Integration extended beyond structural adaptation to include emotional security, social recognition and meaningful social relationships. Homeland remained an enduring symbolic resource maintained through language, family practices and cultural traditions rather than through concrete plans for return. By providing evidence from an understudied post-Soviet context, the study advances migration research by conceptualising migration as a continuous psychological, cultural and relational process.
Abstract One of Australia’s most active and growing immigrant populations, the Indian diaspora is a prime example of the dichotomy of socioeconomic vibrancy and integration difficulties in multicultural host communities. The main research question addressed in this article is: How do the historical development, demographic trends, economic and social accomplishments, and cultural contributions of the Indian diaspora in Australia position the community as a bridge for Australia–India relationships while resolving integration challenges, such as discrimination, individual compromise and policy constraints? The specific issue is defined as the unexplored paradox of diasporic responsibility. Migration studies consist mainly of either optimistic accounts or deficit-fuelled critiques. By combining historical-structural viewpoints with current policy analyses, and drawing on academic assessments, government records and community narratives, this study reveals diasporas to be active participants in globalised multiculturalism rather than merely recipients of host policies, and highlights their transformative potential. It provides a useful framework for policy and lawmakers.
Abstract This study examines the activities of the National Committee of Hungarians from Czechoslovakia ( NCHC ), from the early 1950s to its reorganisation as the National Committee of Hungarians from Slovakia ( NCHS ) in 1995. The NCHC advocated for the rights of the Hungarian minority in Czechoslovakia, particularly between 1984 and 1994. Using primary sources, notably the estate of Prof. Edward Chászár housed at the Ludovika University of Public Service, this research highlights the NCHC ’s international legal and political advocacy. This included lobbying international bodies such as the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe ( CSCE ) and US foreign policy institutions, to highlight human rights violations against Hungarians in Czechoslovakia. The study also explores the internal transformations of the NCHC , its collaboration with other diaspora organisations, and the challenges faced during its transition to the NCHS . By documenting the NCHC ’s contributions, this research fills a gap in the scholarly literature on diaspora advocacy and minority rights in Central Europe.
Abstract This study examines the role played by the Bengali diaspora in Canada and the Canadian media during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. Drawing on secondary literature and using qualitative discourse analysis, the research investigates how media narratives and diaspora-led activism shaped international awareness and support for Bangladesh’s independence. Its findings reveal that students, academics and community organisations were the most proactive diaspora actors, organising awareness campaigns, fundraising efforts and political lobbying. Their engagement was fuelled by strong Bengali nationalism and cultural identity, which mobilised public opinion and influenced Canadian responses to the conflict. The study highlights how diaspora communities can serve as transnational agents, leveraging media and community networks to affect political and humanitarian outcomes abroad. By situating these activities within frameworks of transnational solidarity and diaspora mobilisation, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of the intersection between media, identity and diaspora engagement in national liberation movements.
Abstract This paper examines how Montenegro’s multiethnic composition challenges traditional diaspora engagement frameworks that prioritise ancestry and ethnicity. In Montenegro, where no ethnic group forms a majority (its composition is 41.1 % Montenegrin, 32.9 % Serb, 9.45 % Bosnian, 4.97 % Albanian and 0.8 % Croat), migrants often identify with specific ethnic diasporas rather than a unified national diaspora. We argue that ethnicity-centred diaspora frameworks are ill-suited to small, multiethnic states because they exclude significant populations who maintain substantive connections to the homeland but do not identify with the majority ethnic group. Through a comparative analysis with Scotland’s civic-affinity model, this study demonstrates how inclusive frameworks foster stronger connections between multiethnic states and their global populations. Drawing on document analysis from both countries, we propose adjusted definitions and engagement strategies that acknowledge Montenegro’s demographic reality. The findings contribute to diaspora studies by illustrating how civic-affinity approaches can enhance cultural, social and economic engagement beyond narrowly defined ethnic boundaries in multiethnic states.
Abstract This article examines how Muslim Meskhetians—a historically displaced and stateless diasporic group—navigate cultural identity in the United States in the aftermath of the 1944 Stalinist deportation to Central Asia and subsequent waves of displacement. Drawing on 30 semi-structured interviews conducted in Pennsylvania in 2025, the study investigates the disconnect between economic and legal integration and a sustained sense of cultural exclusion. The research advances the concept of transterritorial identity to describe the community’s strategies of cultural resilience across geographic and generational boundaries. Focusing on three key dimensions—the paradox of integration, everyday forms of cultural resistance and intergenerational resilience—the article reveals how Muslim Meskhetians preserve language, revive religious practice and reaffirm communal bonds while adapting to a multicultural American context. This study contributes to diaspora scholarship by illustrating how memory, displacement and adaptive cultural strategies intersect to shape a fluid yet coherent diasporic identity.
Abstract Between 1845 and 1920, under the British colonial scheme of Indian indenture, 38,681 Indians arrived in Jamaica as labourers, of whom 62 % opted to make the island their home. Like most diaspora communities, the journey from migration to settlement of this almost 2 % minority group within the context of a multifariously divergent society was quite chequered. This paper seeks to trace the experiences of the Indian community in Jamaica through its transformation from immigrant to Indo-Jamaican, between 1845 and 1950. It explores key facets that contributed to the shaping of this community: life as indentured labourers; movement away from plantation life; reconstitution of elements of Indian social, religious and cultural life as allowed by the Jamaican landscape; navigation of the larger Jamaican community as a small minority group; interaction with and integration into Jamaican society; and sentiments and manifested behaviour of the Indians towards the larger Jamaican society, and vice versa.
Abstract Although the positive impact of diasporic communities on the economic development, political and social capital of their home countries has been well documented, their participation in conflicts, especially those that involve secession, are rarely covered. Using comparative case study methodology, this project investigates the homeland social, political and economic circumstances that influence the diaspora to fuel war and secession conflicts in their home countries. We compare the cases of Cameroon and Eritrea, identifying common patterns in the conditions that led their diasporas to support secessionist movements. We argue that marginalisation and institutional grievances such as repression create the conditions for diasporas to get involved in homeland civil wars. This study aims to fill the gap in the literature by providing a comparative case study on the political engagement of diaspora communities in the secession movements in Cameroon and Eritrea.
Abstract This study examines the transformative potential of Africa’s diaspora in reshaping the continent’s intelligence services, through the lens of diaspora theory. Although African intelligence agencies are constrained by limited funding, outdated infrastructure and staffing shortages, diaspora communities recognised by the African Union as the ‘sixth region’ offer unparalleled yet underutilised reservoirs of expertise, networks and resources. Drawing on qualitative analysis and comparative case studies from countries such as China, India and Israel, the paper demonstrates how diaspora engagement can enhance intelligence-gathering, capacity-building and cross-cultural understanding. It highlights opportunities and risks, including issues of dual loyalty and foreign exploitation, while proposing practical policy frameworks centred on structured liaison units, digital platforms, legal safeguards and incentive mechanisms. Ultimately, the article argues that integrating diaspora into intelligence strategies not only modernises African agencies but also strengthens continental resilience, security and sociopolitical stability in line with Agenda 2063.
This article describes the migration of East Indians to the Caribbean under the British indentureship system, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and to Canada as voluntary migrants, in the 20th and 21st centuries. It relates the challenges they endured on their respective journeys and in their new places of abode, the similarities and differences of each context, and the diaspora communities that arose in these places over the long term. But principally, this study argues that in their perseverance and progress, the East Indian diaspora has made considerable tangible and intangible development contributions to their host countries, even generations later. The study uses Martha Nussbaum’s Thick Vague Theory of the Good as a conceptual outline to highlight survival in the indentureship context, and Jennifer Brinkerhoff’s digital diaspora theory to address especially the Canada context, which reflects current waves as well as second- and third-generation Indians.
This article reimagines techno-nationalism by moving beyond its conventional state-centred framing to highlight the cultural practices of individuals, particularly the Indonesian scientific diaspora. Rather than treating technology merely as a communication tool, the study argues that technology possesses agency, shaping how diasporic scientists construct and sustain national identity across borders. By examining the everyday practices of the Indonesian scientific diaspora in the United States, the article shows how techno-nationalism can emerge from below, challenging the assumption that it is exclusively a state-driven project. These transnational engagements reveal a hybrid form of diaspora techno-nationalism in which global expertise, digital networks and scientific mobility become means of expressing belonging to Indonesia, contesting techno-globalist narratives and state-centric understandings of nationhood.
Social alliances within the diaspora have grabbed the attention of communication scholars in recent times. In particular, in the post-pandemic world it has been observed that diasporic communities have been influenced heavily by technological advancements. The term ‘digital diaspora’ is proposed in this context to denote diasporic communities that use digital platforms to move across the time–space continuum, materialise cultural memories and manifest desires and affect. Yet, how the diaspora communities engage and negotiate with the new technologies, and how the intersection of these technologies, affect and identity reinforce or challenge their communication practices, are novel areas of exploration in academia. In this regard, the present study aims to explore the digital practices of the Malayali diaspora and shed light on the ways they negotiate with their present diasporic conditions. Further, it investigates how loss and hope are addressed in social media content and comments.
The engagement of Ethiopia’s professional diaspora in knowledge, skills and technology transfer ( KSTT ) is a vital yet underexplored aspect of national development. Although a diaspora policy has been in place for nearly a decade, its effectiveness is unclear. This national mixed-methods study appraises current practices, drawing on data from government institutions, universities, hospitals and diaspora individuals. Findings reveal that although post-2018 reforms broadened engagement beyond remittances, contributions remain fragmented and confined to soft-skills transfer. A critical analysis identifies that this limited impact stems from systemic barriers: institutional fragmentation, bureaucratic bottlenecks, a persistent trust deficit and the politicisation of the diaspora. Therefore, effective KSTT requires a fundamental shift to address these root causes. The study recommends targeted interventions, including mandating institutional diaspora focal points, creating a ‘Green Channel’ for customs, launching a national digital matching platform, and fostering depoliticised engagement forums to build a sustainable and effective diaspora engagement ecosystem.
