Springer Global Diasporas and Development: Socioeconomic, Cultural, and Policy Perspectives

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. Review 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 h