The Political Power of Diaspora as External Actors in Armed Civil Conflict: Ethnonationalist Conflict-Generated Diaspora Use of Social Media in Transnational Political Engagement in Homeland Conflict: The Case of Rwanda.
Year: 2013
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This study explores the power of ethnonationalist conflict-generated diasporas \n(CGD) as external actors in homeland conflict by exploring the nature of their \npolitical engagement on a transnational level using Internet Communication \ntechnologies (ICTs), with Rwanda as a case study. Virtual ethnography was \nchosen as the research methodology to explore the online activities of \nRwandan CGD using social media (social networking sites) to form virtual \ntransnational networks for political purposes. Diasporic online formations and \nactivities were mapped in order to gain increased insights into ways that CGD \nuse social media to engage in homeland conflict, and the effect their \nengagement has on the conflict cycle in the home country. Results of the \nstudy revealed that Rwandan CGDs demonstrate attitudes and motivations to \nact in ways that are consistent with other case studies of CGD, including \nexhibiting an enduring commitment and loyalty to co-ethnics, a romanticized \nconceptualization of homeland and a myth of return home. The results also \nrevealed Rwandan CGDs¿ strong propensity to use social media to engage in \nhomeland conflict on a political level through the development of a large and \ndense transnational network used for a range of political purposes, including \nthe dissemination of genocide denial and propaganda consistent with the pre-genocide \npropaganda campaign. Implications for peace-building and conflict \nanalysis are discussed.
Author: Michelle E. Martin
Language: English
Subfield: Demography
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1502802052