Advantages and challenges to diaspora transnational civil society activism in the homeland: examples from Iraqi Kurdistan, Somaliland and South Sudan

As the conflicts that gave birth to the diaspora communities began to give way to post-conflict reconstruction, diaspora communities have come to play a part in their homelands’ affairs. As the governments in the homelands have started diverting their efforts and resources to capacity-building and governance, members of the diaspora became potential contributors to such state-building efforts. Their education in the host countries, their material resources, and their access to the governments in the homelands have turned diaspora activists into important contributors to these state-building projects. Diaspora activists, whether they operate mainly in the homeland or the host country, are immersed in both societies. Their activism is the outcome of their experiences in the host country, shaped by their desire to develop the homeland.