1st Edition
Transnational Politics, Citizenship and Elections The Political Engagement of Transnational Communities in National Elections
This book examines the reasons for which political parties engage with transnational communities and consider the engagement of expatriate communities to be of value or, otherwise, for domestic politics. Centred on Italy, and offering comparative analyses of external voting policies in other countries, such as Turkey and Romania, it draws on interview material with representatives of major political parties and members of state institutions to consider why parties value the political engagement of citizens living abroad. With attention to citizenship policies and the motivations that guide policy makers to introduce external voting policies in countries of origin, the author raises questions about the legitimacy of political engagement on the part of diasporic communities and asks how we should best understand the implementation of certain types of domestic citizenship policy. As such, Transnational Politics, Citizenship, and Elections will appeal to scholars of sociology and politics with interests in transnationalism and the engagement of expatriate populations in the domestic politics of their countries of origin.
Introduction 1. Transnational Politics and Citizenship 2. History of Italian Emigration and the Response of Political Parties 3. Electoral Participation from Abroad: Turnouts, Trends and Results 4. A New Understanding of External Voting: What Political Parties Want 5. Citizenship Rights and Political Identity of Emigrants 6. External Voting Policy in Turkey and Participation from Abroad 7. The Political Inclusion of Romanian Emigrants in Domestic Politics 8. New Experiences of Political Transnationalism. Comparing the Italian, Turkish and Romanian Experience Conclusion Appendix A: List of Interviewees References
Biography
Chiara De Lazzari is Teaching Associate in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne and Research Associate at Swinburne University of Technology, Australia.
