Diaspora communities are key aspects of civil society, but what are their potential positive contributions to peacebuilding? This journal article by Feargal Cochrane identifies diaspora as a neglected aspect of existing literature on the role and impact of civil society in divided societies. As seen in the case of the Irish diaspora in the Northern Ireland conflict and peace process, diaspora communities have the potential to impact both positively and negatively on peacebuilding efforts.
Existing literature on conflict management and peacebuilding often assumes that a functioning civil society is a prerequisite for a healthy democratic polity. The role of civil society is seen as connecting grass-roots communities within countries to their political elites, helping to build mutually reinforcing dynamics that strengthen peace settlements. Research on civil society in divided societies often focuses on civil society as either an internal phenomenon (e.g., indigenous NGOs working for peace, development or reconciliation) or external phenomenon (external agencies providing humanitarian aid or political support to the region). Little attention is given to the role of diaspora groups that straddle the internal/ external boundaries of civil society or their potential to contribute to peacebuilding.
Diasporas should be included in any analysis of civil society’s contribution to conflict and peacebuilding. While analysis often focuses on the destructive potential of diaspora groups and their role in the continuation of violent conflict, it should be noted that:
- Diaspora communities can provide both financial and political capital to the conflict or peacebuilding process. Because diaspora groups are not homogenous, the nature of their power can be both coercive and non-coercive.
- Understanding power beyond power’s coercive limits enables a more visible and dynamic picture of the contribution of diaspora communities to peacebuilding. Diaspora communities posess both threat power (the capacity to force or compel in a coercive manner) and integrative power (the power to convince others through intellectual, spiritual or sentimental persuasion).
- In the Irish case, integrative power has been more influential in supporting negotiations and the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. The Irish-American diaspora had little coercive power and relied on the values of influence integrity, loyalty and trust, rather than compulsion, threat or force.
Diaspora groups are an integral element of civil society with the capacity to impact both positively and negatively on peacebuilding efforts. More attention needs to be paid to their potential positive contributions.
- While the example of the Irish diaspora may be unique, it is unlikely that there are no overlapping dynamics with other cases elsewhere.
- The first step in determining whether a potential exists for diaspora communities to reduce or end violence in their homelands is to better understand them.
