Diasporas, Development and Peacemaking in the Horn of Africa

Exiled populations, i.e. diaspora communities, hold a strong stake in the fate of their countries of origin. In a world becoming ever more interconnected, they engage in 'long-distance politics' towards their homelands, send financial remittances and support social development in their communities of origin. Transnational diaspora networks have thus become global forces shaping the relationship between countries, regions and continents.This important intervention, written by scholars working at the cutting edge of diaspora and conflict, challenges the conventional wisdom that diaspora are all too often warmongers, their time abroad causing them to become more militant in their engagement with local affairs. Rather, they can and should be a force for good in bringing peace to their home countries.Featuring in-depth case studies from the Horn of Africa - including Somalia and Ethiopia - this volume presents an essential re-thinking of a key issue in African politics and development.

Liisa Laakso is Professor and the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland. Previously she hold the UNESCO Chair in Development and International Cooperation at the University of Jyvaskyla. She is a co-editor of the Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding.
Petri Hautaniemi is a researcher at Development Studies, Department of Political and Economic Studies in the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland. He is currently engaged in a project on Somali return migration.