Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents both an exploration into the phenomenon of long-distance nationalism and an analysis of Croatians and Slovenians in Australia with a particular focus on second generation individuals. It provides an overview of the resettlement processes of the post-Second World War European refugees with particular reference to Croatians and Slovenians. The book discusses the cohesion in diaspora settings. In Australia, the ethnic community is often, and to some extent misleadingly, applied when discussing ethnic groups of migrant origins. The book also discusses the mediation of information between the two settings and introduces the concepts of 'distant view' and 'sieve effect'. The distant view relates to the relatively static viewing of the homeland which encourages (often via diaspora elites) a selective receptivity in diaspora.