Reimagining Political Community: Diaspora, Nation-State, and the Struggle for Recognition

The article focuses on the diasporic phenomenon in a political community. Diaspora is associated with population movement, advances in communications technology, expansion of world markets and flows of capital and labour. It argues that the nation-state is an important factor in giving diasporics a sense of identity and community. The rise of a professional class and the boom in the Asian-Pacific economy have obscured the issue of rights rooted in nationally defined citizenship. The political community derives its power from history, traditions and cultural memory.