Mutual Antagonisms: Why the South African Diaspora and the South African Government Do Not Engage
01 Jan 2017-pp 331-357
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that there is such a thing as a South African diaspora and seek to understand its character, practices, and attitudes, its fragmented nature, its linkages with South Africa, and its actual and potential return behavior.
Abstract: Even though South Africa is best known as a destination for migrants, it is also an important global migration source country, with over 750,000 South Africans living abroad. Attempts to situate South African emigrants within the broader context of the large and growing global literature on diaspora engagement and development are comparatively rare. This chapter argues that there is such a thing as a South African diaspora and seeks to understand its character, practices, and attitudes, its fragmented nature, its linkages with South Africa, and its actual and potential return behavior. The chapter provides an analysis of the formation of the global South African diaspora and then examines the case of the South African diaspora in Canada, showing that the majority are antagonistic towards the South African government and the idea of being involved in diaspora activities that would promote development. The final section examines the attitude of the South African government towards diaspora engagement and argues that although the government is supportive of the AU’s position on engaging the African diaspora in development, it does very little to court its own diaspora.
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01 Jan 2021TL;DR: The role of Canadian immigrant diaspora groups in sustainable development and the value of such activities and efforts to institutionalize these linkages using international agreements and the national policy framework in Canada is discussed in this article.
Abstract: This chapter addresses two dimensions of the ‘migration–development nexus’: the role of Canadian immigrant diaspora groups in sustainable development and the value of such activities and efforts to institutionalize these linkages using international agreements and the national policy framework in Canada. Despite recognition of the potential development contribution of diasporas, a clear-cut official strategy involving the large and growing diaspora section of Canada’s population has not emerged. This chapter first describes the general role accorded to diasporas in contemporary debates about the development value of migration and then examines Canadian government responses to the diaspora engagement option. Despite the failure of government to articulate a clear diaspora engagement strategy or to see diasporas as potential partners in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there is considerable evidence of diaspora initiative, particularly in the area of philanthropy. The chapter develops this argument with reference to a case study of the South African diaspora in Canada. The chapter maps a distinctive array of programmes with both limited and broader ambitions and outcomes. By contributing to existing efforts or self-fashioned initiatives, these active diaspora individuals/groups function as supplementary actors in development engagement in South Africa, Canada and elsewhere. Some of these initiatives have received government support but not because they are diaspora-driven per se. Indeed, an official Canadian ‘diaspora strategy’ remains elusive. The chapter ends with a call for further research to assess whether the South African diaspora is exceptional or part of a broader movement among Canada’s nearly 8 million foreign born.