Global Diasporas and Development

​This volume discusses how diasporas have evolved and engaged in economic, social and cultural domains of their host and home countries across the globe. The volume is divided into six parts: Issues, Challenges and Development Experiences; Diaspora Finance and Economic Development; Knowledge Transfer and Diasporas; The Politics of Inclusion and Exclusion; Gender and Diasporas; and Representation in Film, Theatre and Literature. It is truly a global representation of diasporic engagement. Its contributions come from experts in various disciplines across the globe, and the chapters cover socioeconomic, policy-related and cultural elements in countries as far apart as New Zealand and Zimbabwe. The contributors discuss major issues related to local communities' engagement with the diaspora and diaspora--home relations in Africa, West Asia, South and South-east Asia, Australia and New Zealand, China, and the USA, providing a panoramic view of diasporic flows in the twenty-first century. The interdisciplinary thrust of the volume, together with its global focus, makes this volume useful to researchers, academics and experts from the social sciences, population sciences and development studies, as also to analysts and policymakers across the world.

A very useful addition in the field of diaspora studies, which is an extremely important emerging discipline.

 

-          J. C. Sharma, Former Member Secretary, High Level Committee on Indian Diaspora

 

… This thought-provoking book addresses the correlation between development and global diasporas from an interdisciplinary perspective. It has the merit of looking in-depth into systematic and prospective contributions by diasporas to the development in their home countries, including profound impact on poverty reduction.… [T]he book is a leap forward in the comprehension of socio-economic, cultural and policy dimensions of global diasporas…. 

Dr. Armen Baibourtian, Senior Adviser, United Nations, Armenia 

… This book is an excellent attempt – a creative brainstorm of fresh ideas and visions – to provide well-embedded case studies and theoretical new insights.… In this well-edited and ambitious volume, the authors focus on diasporas being the human face of the globalization process. The book is a must read for students, scholars and policy makers in the field of diasporas and development.

 

- Prof. Gijsbert Oonk, Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication, Rotterdam, Netherlands; author of Settled Strangers. Asian Business Elites in East Africa, 1800-2000

 

 

… This book links the economic, social and cultural aspects of diasporas in Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and the Caribbean. In bringing these themes together for the varied diasporas, it gives a comparative picture across perspectives, regions and histories. It also usefully connects this discussion to policy directions regarding the use of knowledge networks, transfer of skills and the flow of remittances.

- Prof. Supriya Singh, Sociology of Communications, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

 

 

This book is an invaluable contribution to the growing literature on global diasporas. With its focus on socio-economic, cultural and policy perspectives, this edited volume serves to enrich our understanding in today's context of globalisation, neo-liberalism and transnationalism. The book will be of interest to scholars, students and policy makers. Sahoo and Pattanaik have done a great job.

 

-          Prof. Ravinder Barn, Professor of Social Policy, University of London, London, UK

 

 

Sahoo and Pattanaik offer the reader a path-opening and comprehensive view of the complex relationship of diaspora and development. Relying on an impressive collection of authors from various parts of the world, the book displays the many dimensions of the diaspora-development nexus (economy, finance, knowledge, political engagement, exclusion, gender and culture…) through a selection of highly relevant cases in different continents. This is a timely scholarly initiative, particularly relevant when this issue has obviously become one of the most important ones, in our times.

-          Prof. Stéphane Dufoix, University of Paris Ouest Nanterre, France, author of Diasporas.

Sadananda Sahoo and B.K. Pattanaik’s superb collection of interdisciplinary essays provides the readers with insights into a wide range of issues related to the complex and multifaceted reality of diasporas in the global arena. It is a wonderful addition to the existing literature, while it offers new approaches to the nexus between diasporas and international development.

Prof. Pedro J. Oiarzabal, University of Deusto, Basque Country, Spain, co-author of Diasporas in the New Media Age.

Sadananda Sahoo is a sociologist, at present an Assistant Professor at the School of Inter-disciplinary and Trans-disciplinary Studies (SOITS), Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi. His PhD at the Central University of Hyderabad was on the role and contribution of diasporas to home country development, especially in the healthcare sector. It provided him with significant insights into the dynamics of diasporic engagement. Before joining IGNOU he worked with the Institute of Applied Manpower Research (IAMR), a Planning Commission think-tank for the Government of India. At IAMR, he completed several international projects on education, agriculture and employment. Dr. Sahoo has more than 20 publications and reviews on diaspora and ethnic studies, international migration, public policy, and rural development, among others. Besides, he has also co-edited a book on diasporas, development and education. He is the Founder Convener of the Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism (GRFDT), based in New Delhi, India. He teaches and supervises students on issues of media, culture, development, public policy and the global diaspora. Email: ssahoo@ignou.ac.in B.K. Pattanaik is a developmental economist and at present Director of the School of Extension and Development Studies (SOEDS), IGNOU, New Delhi. In the past twenty years, he has completed a number research studies, policy evaluations and consulting projects for global agencies like the UNDP, the UNICEF, Ford Foundation, USAID and the European Commission. In addition, he continues to work as a policy expert for several departments at the Government of India on issues of education, health and socio-economic development. He regularly contributes to policymaking as a member of working and drafting committees under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Planning Commission, Government of India. Professor Pattanaik has published seven books and more than 100 articles and reviews on public policy, agriculture, education, health and family welfare, rural development, migration, gender empowerment and international development. He has received international appreciation and awards for his contribution to the study of developmental economics. Email: bkpattanaik@ignou.ac.in