ABSTRACT
Within the fields of international relations and diaspora studies, the study of diaspora politics has given rise to a substantial body of literature. Political science inquiry tends mainly to interpret the diaspora as non-state actors, while emphasizing the socioeconomic and political capital they represent for their homeland at the macro level. This chapter shows that the relationships between diaspora populations and their homelands, especially non-state or sub-state homelands such as the Basque country, should be understood as socio-politically multifaceted and multi-directional. The Basque country is a sub-state homeland where various actors are engaged in ongoing nation-building efforts, and this is of vital importance to the politicization and political engagement of its diaspora. The Basque case illustrates the complex interactions between a diaspora and its non-state homeland from a transnational and comparative approach. Diaspora organizational leaders often exhibit ambivalence and mercurial attitudes towards involvement in homeland affairs.
