'Diaspora States' in Somalia and Afghanistan: New Perspectives on Post-War Politics, Dual Citizenship and International Statebuilding

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Since the late 1990s diaspora elites have returned in great numbers to post-war countries to take up top positions in government, politics, and the military. While scholars have alluded to this trend across a range of disciplines and contexts, its effects on modern governance - state-society relations, representative democracy, and inclusive development - have not been the focus of any systematic research in the fields of comparative politics and international relations. This project uses innovative experimental methodologies and qualitative case-study comparisons to examine how diaspora return affects political and institutional development in two of the world's most fragile post-war contexts, namely Somalia and Afghanistan. These cases experienced the largest refugee crises and the longest foreign interventions, and have comparable socio-political landscapes. Using a mixed methods approach to study elite and state behaviour and public opinion, this research defines a new phenomenon - 'diaspora states' - and hypothesises about how the overrepresentation of dual citizens in positions of power engenders poor governance, war recurrenceand political violence. The project will be carried out at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation and the London School of Economics. The outputs will include a monograph, three academic papers and direct impacts on policy-making. This project will enhance my career prospects by: establishing me as a leading expert in post-war politics and the political economy of development, expanding my methodological training and publication record, and increasing my competitiveness for larger collaborative grants across international research networks. No less importantly, the results of the project contributes to Europe's rethinking of its role in global initiatives and how it can better support democratic processes and trust in governance through improved transparency, accountability, rule of law and equality.