Grabbing the Headlines: Diaspora Support for Ethnopolitical Organizations in the Middle East
20 Pages Posted: 27 Aug 2013
Date Written: August 22, 2013
Abstract
Why do some ethnic or ethnoreligous organizations get support from their diaspora while others do not? This question is important not only in its own right but also because a great deal of research has shown that external support can exacerbate conflicts between substate groups and the state (Smith & Stares, 2007; Collier & Hoeffler, 2004; Shain, 2002; Demmers, 2002; King & Melvin, 2000). While there has been some very good qualitative research in this area and a great deal of quantitative research examining the impact of such support on conflict outcomes, we are not aware of any quantitative analysis that examines the question of why some organizations get support while others do not. Particularly lacking is a study that examines this issue in a way that allows us to incorporate both violent and nonviolent organizations. Recent literature (Feyissa, 2012; Kleist, 2008; Orjuela, 2008) has begun to reexamine the assumption of diasporas as conflict-makers only, but there is very little data for analysis. Using data on 112 organizations in the Middle East over a 24 year time period we examine how factors like the power of the group, ideology, political behavior and government treatment of groups and organizations might or might not impact the likelihood of an organization getting support from its diaspora. Borrowing from the marketing perspective argued by Bob (2001) we argue that contentious political behavior, both violent and nonviolent, should have the largest impact on such support. We find that those that do the best job of “grabbing the headlines”, regardless of other circumstances, tend to get the most support.
Keywords: diaspora, Middle East, Ethnic conflict
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