ABSTRACT
This introduction, and the chapters that follow, make a plea for more attention to Diaspora Organizations (DOs) in International Affairs. Whereas states have traditionally predominated International Relations (IR) scholarship, increasing attention has been paid to inter- and trans-national roles of non-state actors, such as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Rarely, however, has the study of international affairs included DOs. In this introduction, we define DOs as actors in their own right and discuss their networks that transcend state borders. We also discuss the surprising lack of attention to DOs in the fields of International Relations, Migration Studies and Organizational Sociology. We pose key questions on 1) the multiple issue areas DOs address; 2) the power relations within DOs and in their networks, and 3) how IR can learn from and contribute to research on DOs. These questions also run through the other chapters of this edited volume. Together the chapters provide rich evidence from a diverse set of case studies of DOs active in Europe, the Americas, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arab world. They document that DOs are reshaping world politics and are becoming increasingly visible as important transnational actors in IR.
