The emigrant African population holds significant unexploited potential for the development of the continent. But the complexities of African migration are poorly understood. Further research to guide policy must take account of how different groups of African migrants respond to the challenges and opportunities of globalisation.

Changing migration flows, reflecting today’s globalised economy, are leading to the development of new migration networks and communities, or diasporas. A diaspora can be defined as community members who are dispersed to many diverse regions of the world, but retain an idea of their uniqueness and an interest in their homeland. Research from the University of Plymouth, in the UK, calls for a reconceptualisation of these migrants in order to link them to African development.

It is clear African diasporas have a key role to play in development on the continent. Remittances – funds sent back to developing countries by migrants – reached US$93 billion in 2003, easily exceeding foreign aid. With 20,000 African professionals leaving the continent every year, ‘brain drain’ is now a serious concern. The African Union has addressed this by calling migration as a ‘critical challenge of the new millennium’ during 2006 and by focusing on the human resources initiative contained in the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). Yet government policies to date have been inadequate.

Whether the development potential of the African diasporas can be productively channelled depends largely on an understanding of migration flows and networks within the context of globalisation and Africa’s distinctive political culture. The author makes some important observations on African diasporas:

• There have been three main waves of contemporary African migration: during colonisation, de-colonisation and the period of structural adjustment of the 1980s.
• African diasporas are fractured along lines of class, race, gender, generation, geography, ethnicity and language, and have changed over time.
• The majority of migratory movements are between neighbouring countries and involve non-elite or unskilled migrants: numbers have risen with regional instability.
• Neoliberalism, emphasising the primacy of economic growth, is dominant at the elite level in Africa but its spread has been uneven and shaped by neo-patrimonial states which have an impact on migration flows.
• The different elements of Africa’s expatriate population maintain fragmented and diverse links with their homelands, but this does not amount to a strong diasporic identity with clear implications for development.

Drawing on the work of Antonio Gramsci, the author proposes a new theoretical framework whereby diasporas are understood as a condition determined by historic forces and the existing structure of power relations. The author concludes that:

• Tapping the potential of the African diaspora requires rethinking relationships to develop an integrated network of links that best suits African development.
• The complexity of the diasporas needs to be considered within the context of a new globalised world order and the neo-patrimonial nature of politics in Africa.
• Research is yet to consider the power relations, interests and political agendas surrounding diasporas, along with the impacts of class, race and gender.
• Diasporic activities are best considered against the backdrop of the globalised economy and processes such as trade liberalisation and the global politics of development.
• Connections between global structures and between local and national structures of social forces must also be taken into account, including the impact of social movements, religious groups, warlords and traders on diasporic networks and income.

Source(s):
‘Reconceptualising the Migration-Development Nexus: Diasporas, Globalisation, and the Politics of Exclusion’, Third World Quarterly, Vol.28, No.1, pages 59-76, by Rebecca Davies, 2007

id21 Research Highlight: 15 August 2007

Further Information:
Rebecca Davies
Department of International Relations
University of Plymouth
Drake’s Circus
Plymouth PL4 8AA
United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)1752 600600
Fax: +44 (0)1752 233984
Contact the contributor: rebecca.davies@plymouth.ac.uk

University of Plymouth, UK