Transnational civil society and foreign policy: The role of diasporas in comparative perspective

Civil society in European countries is becoming more diverse and transnational largely as a consequence of migration. Yet the significance of these changes on foreign policy is under-researched.

This project will address this theoretical and empirical lacuna by examining the impact transnational civil society actors have on foreign policy in European democracies.

More specifically, we will identify the types of networks that exist between state officials and diaspora groups and explain how their interaction shapes foreign policy practices – both at the strategic level and in day-to-day policy implementation.

The project advances an innovative theoretical framework that cuts across key debates in the fields of 1) civil society, 2) transnationalism and diaspora, and 3) foreign policy analysis.

Methodologically, this three-year project adopts a mixed-methods strategy that combines a social network analysis with content analysis and semi-structured interviews, as well as process tracing techniques.

Empirically, the project is designed as a comparative case study of two European host countries (Sweden and Germany) and five diasporic communities (Assyrians, Ethnic Turks, Kurds with Turkey as their country of origin (CoO), and Jews and Palestinians with Israel/Palestine as their CoO).

Taken together, the project will contribute with new theoretical and empirical knowledge on the ways in which transnational civil society actors influence foreign policy in European democracies.