Following its initial publication in 1997, Global Diasporas: An Introduction was central to the emergence of diaspora studies and quickly established itself as the leading textbook in the field. This expanded and fully-revised 25th anniversary edition adds two new chapters on incipient diasporas and diaspora engagement while carefully clarifying the changing meanings of the concept of diaspora and incorporating updated statistics and new interpretations seamlessly into the original text. The book has also been made more student-friendly with illustrations, thought-provoking questions, and guides to further reading.
The book features insightful case studies and compares a wide range of diasporas, including Jewish, Armenian, African, Sikh, Chinese, British, Indian, Lebanese, Afghan and Caribbean peoples. This edition also retains Cohen’s rich historical and sociological descriptions and clear yet elegant writing, as well as his modified concept of ‘diasporic rope’ linking different features of diasporas.
This updated edition of the definitive textbook in the field will be an indispensable guide for students and instructors seeking to explore the complex issues of diaspora, migration and identity.
1. The study of diasporas: a guide
Simple definitions of diaspora
A complex idea of diaspora: nine strands of a diasporic rope
A typology of diasporas
Diasporic actors and activism
Conclusion
Further reading
Questions to think about
Notes
References
2. Transcending the prototype: rethinking the Jewish diaspora
The Jewish diaspora as prototype
‘Babylon’ as a site of oppression
‘Babylon’ as a site of creativity
The Jewish diaspora and Christianity
The Jewish diaspora and Islam
Ashkenazi fates
Conclusion
Further reading
Questions to think about
Notes
References
3. Victim diasporas: Africans and Armenians
Origins of the African diaspora
The social construction of African homelands
Return and other aspects of the African diaspora
The creation of the Armenian diaspora
After the massacres: Armenians at home and abroad
Soviet Armenia and after
Conclusion
Further reading
Questions to think about
Notes
References
4. Labour and imperial diasporas: indentured Indians and the British
Indentured Indians: a new system of slavery?
Indentured women
The songs of Ramayana and political outcomes
Imperial diasporas
The settlement of the British Empire
British emigration from below: the role of ‘gentlewomen’
The end of the dominion diaspora
Effects on British identity
Conclusion
Further reading
Questions to think about
Notes
References
5. Trade diasporas: Chinese and Lebanese
The making of the Chinese trade diaspora
The Chinese as minorities
The great Lebanese emigration
The Lebanese diaspora: butterflies and caterpillars
Conclusion
Further reading
Questions to think about
Notes
References
6. Deterritorialized diasporas: the black Atlantic and other cases
The Caribbean: migration and diaspora
African-Caribbeans in the USA
African-Caribbeans in the UK
Caribbean peoples in the Netherlands and France
The black Atlantic thesis
Other deterritorialized diasporas
Conclusion
Further reading
Questions to think about
Notes
References
7. Incipient diasporas: Afghans and other refugees and displaced people
Workers in the Gulf states
Turkish guestworkers in Germany
Incipient diasporas and ‘new diasporas’
The making of an incipient diaspora: Afghans
Refugees and displaced people as reservoirs for incipient diasporas
Incipiency and contiguity: the dimensions of diaspora formation
Conclusion
Further reading
Questions to think about
Notes
References
8. Dreams and realities of a homeland: Zionists and Sikhs
Birth traumas: can Israel be a ‘normal’ state?
Israel and the diaspora: a tangled relationship
Yordim, sabras and transnationals
Israel and the US Jewish diaspora: attitudinal shifts
A Sikh identity
Sikh origins
Amritsar, the Golden Temple and the lure of homeland
Post-Khalistani visions: the politics of recognition and a global qaum
Conclusion
Further reading
Questions to think about
Notes
References
9. Diasporic engagement: state and non-state actors
Home governments and diasporas: from rejection to adoption
Host governments and diasporas: from fear to accommodation
International agencies/INGOs and diasporas as agents of development
Diasporas and homeland community engagement
Diasporas in conflict and post-conflict situations
Conclusion
Further reading
Questions to think about
Notes
References
10. Conclusion: mutating meanings of diaspora
Jews and Greeks in classical times
Diaspora in early Christianity
The expanded concept
The emergent field of diaspora studies
Decoupling diaspora from homeland
Applied diaspora studies
Diasporas and complexity
Conclusion: between self-declaration and a Procrustean bed
Further reading
Questions to think about
Notes
References
Biography
Robin Cohen is Emeritus Professor of Development Studies at the University of Oxford, UK. He has published widely on migration, globalization, social identity and diasporas. He is the author of numerous books, most recently Refugia: Radical Solutions to Mass Displacement (with Nicholas Van Hear, Routledge, 2019), Migration: The Movement of Humankind from Prehistory to the Present (Andre Deutsch, 2019), and Encountering Difference: Diasporic Traces, Creolizing Spaces (with Olivia Sheringham, Polity Press, 2016). He is also editor of several volumes, including the Routledge Handbook of Diaspora Studies (with Carolin Fischer, Routledge, 2018) and The Cambridge Survey of World Migration (Cambridge University Press, 2010).
Praise for Previous Editions
Cohen’s erudition is vast … his interpretations are solid and well informed. By and large one can only marvel at the scope of Cohen’s learning and the richness of his vocabulary.
Mark J. Miller, University of Delaware, USA, Journal of World History
Cohen’s book offers a timely overview of diasporas. The book is also engagingly written, with Cohen’s personal anecdotes adding zing rather than self-indulgence to the analysis.
Robert C. Smith, Columbia University, USA, Political Studies Quarterly
A succinct but satisfying book … as Cohen convincingly demonstrates here, the diaspora wave is well and truly upon us.
Sarah Ansari, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK, Times Higher Educational Supplement
Robin Cohen’s delineation of common features associated with diaspora, and his proposition of ‘ideal types’, are important conceptual tools for use in systematic theorizing and research about diaspora, no matter the geographic location.
Jualynne E. Dodson, Michigan State University, USA, Athens Journal of Social Sciences
