Proceedings
Thursday, May 9, 2002
Conference
Opening Remarks and Introduction
With
advances in transportation and information technology, the impact
of globalization and the growing numbers of people with dual or
even supranational citizenship, people immigrating from one country
to another have the opportunity to remain actively involved and
informed of events in their home country. Diasporic groups can now
maintain closer ties with their homeland and with members of their
community than other immigrant groups who often become more closely
integrated into the predominant culture of their new societies.
| · |
Marin
Sopta, Director, Croatian Center for Strategic Studies |
| · |
Howard
Duncan, Executive Head, Metropolis Project |
| · |
Vlado
Sakic, Director, Institute of Social Sciences "Ivo Pilar" |
Friday, May 10 - Diaspora and the Homeland
When
Diaspora Return: Integrating Difference or Reaping the Rewards?
What are the effects on population, education and social
trends of diaspora who return to their homeland? Does government
policy have to be adapted to re-integrate these populations? Is
research available that looks at the impact of returned populations?
What non-government organizations exist in home countries? What
is the impact of diaspora on homeland internal politics? Does this
influence government policy about electoral laws, processes and
systems?
| · |
Sasa
Bozic, Institute for Migration (Croatia) |
| · |
Demetri
Papademetriou, Migration Policy Institute (USA) |
| · |
Fernando
Nunes, Brock University (Canada) |
| · |
Irena Omelaniuk, International Organization for Migrations |
| · |
Discussion |
Returning
Home to Build the State
Diasporic involvement in state re-construction and construction
(post conflict changes, democratisation, realignment of government
structures and policies, etc). What is the impact of diaspora in
this regard? How does the presence of newly returned diaspora affect
the construction of governments and government policy?
| · |
Branko
Salaj, former ambassador to France and former minister of
information (Croatia) |
| · |
Juan
Hernandez, Senior Adviser to the President, Government of Mexico |
| · |
Peter
Schatzer, External Relations Department, International Organization
for Migrations |
| · |
Discussion |
Involvement
in Home Country Conflict
What
is the nature of the involvement of diaspora in home country conflict
and terrorist activities? Issues to be discussed include financial
assistance and providing professional expertise. Do diaspora influence
peace settlements and post-conflict reconstruction plans? Are refugees
who have fled their home state to be considered as members of the
diaspora in this regard?
| · |
Marin
Sopta, Director, Croatian Center for Strategic Studies (Croatia) |
| · |
Jack
Holland, New York University, Department of Journalism (USA) |
| · |
Ivo
Baucic, University of Split (Croatia) |
Financial Remittances In: Financial Support from Diaspora
What
is the nature and impact of economic ties between diasporic groups
and home states and how are policy makers to react to these international
flows of capital? What is the nature of the flow of financial assistance
from global diaspora to home countries for the purposes of reconstruction
and development?
Saturday, May 11 - Diaspora and the Host Country
Diasporic
Influences on Foreign Policy in Host States
Does
the presence of significant diasporic groups influence host country
foreign policy? When is policy influenced by the presence of these
groups? Can diplomatic ties between countries be altered by the
presence of diasporic, minority populations of one country in a
host country? How do transnational, diasporic communities influence
political and diplomatic relations between host and homeland states?
How do policy makers in host states deal with the dichotomy between
national interests and pressures from minority, diasporic groups
to recognize their homeland's interests? Can foreign affairs policy
be constructed that consciously draws on the host country's diasporic
community?
Diasporic Influence on Host Country Domestic Political Activity
What
is the nature of the influence of diaspora on host country domestic
political activity? Do minority voting blocks in national elections
have an impact on governmental structures? Do immigrant, diasporic
groups vote along ethnic and national lines? How are host countries'
domestic and foreign policies likely to be affected by the active
intervention of sending countries that are increasingly viewing
their expatriate communities as a resource?
Security
Issues in the Host Country
Impact
of diaspora on host country security issues. Do diasporic groups
with political ties to their homelands affect societal relations
in the host states? What challenges are posed by divided and dual
loyalties? Do fragmented, divisive, diasporic groups create fault
lines in host societies?
Economic Impacts
Is
there an economic impact of diasporic remittances from the host
country to the homeland? Does this affect host country policy in
the areas of taxation and customs? What is the nature and impact
of business ties fostered between members of the diaspora?
Sunday, May 12 - Cultural Outing
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