Engaging one’s diaspora to spread nationalist ideology and gain support for conservative political reforms is clearly popular across the world. The methods for doing so, whether it be by bolstering religious organizations or engaging youth through activism, are usually easy to observe as countries target those in their own communities. Unfortunately, not every diaspora member […]
Author: Nikhil Jain
Diaspora Diplomats: Harnessing Indian and Turkish Youth Activism
With the US elections coming to a close, revolutions propping up in various international regions, and other election cycles running their courses around the globe, it’s safe to say that the youth of the world has never been more politically active. From social media trends to on the ground activism, young people are actively shaping, […]
Importing Nationalism: An Introduction to Diaspora Politics in India and Turkey
I was a high school freshman when Narendra Modi won the election as India’s prime minister in 2014. I had little to no knowledge of Indian politics, having never lived there nor understood the intricacies of the policies each political party pursued. However, my parents, grandparents, and community around me were ecstatic with the election […]
Exodus of Cultural Capital: the Migration of Jewish Uzbekistanis from Bukhara to Broadway
If you walk down 108th Street in Queens, NY, you’ll see some familiar sites of an Uzbek diaspora community: tandoor restaurants, traditional clothing stores, and newspaper stands carrying a publication called the Bukharan Times. More curious things you may find are signs with Hebrew alongside Uzbek Cyrillic, synagogues, and Jewish community centers. One does not […]
For Turkmens abroad and at home, the issue isn’t forced migration but forced containment
In the early summer of 2020, Central Asian migrant workers and students in Russia faced a horrifying problem: capital and jobs were running out and a lack of flights home meant an inability to escape their newfound impoverishment. Turkmen international students, however, still stranded in Russia were fighting another fight: the restriction of financial support […]