Kinship and Diasporas in International Affairs

In the face of globalization, the War on Terror, and massive shifts in migration patterns, analysts and scholars are finally being forced to reckon with the limitations of the old territorial models of global politics. As these and other political and economic changes continue to defy national borders, interested readers owe it to themselves to appreciate the power of kinship and diaspora---two of the most powerful factors in transnational politics today.

Yossi Shain's essential new work replaces the old, nationally bounded image of international politics (a vestige of the age of empire and the rise of the nation-state) with a new, more fluid vision, in which borders are understood to be permeable and formal institutions mingle with informal networks of blood and belief. Shain's "politics of belonging" provides the much-needed framework within which analysts can better understand the power of pan-Islamism, organized crime syndicates, even regional security organizations and other transnational political phenomena. This concise, visionary work demands nothing less than a total reassessment of standard ideas about the international political order.

Yossi Shain heads the Hartog School of Government at Tel Aviv University and is Professor in the Department of Government at Georgetown University.

Jacket design by Don Hammond

"An astute and provocative analysis of the changing role of diasporas in international relations. Drawing on the rich experience of the Jewish people, Shain trenchantly suggests ways in which diaspora groups can strengthen their former homelands politically and economically. Essential reading for our globalized world!"
---David A. Harris, Executive Director, American Jewish Committee

"This book will be required reading for anyone interested in how and why diasporas support homeland political violence, including terrorism."
---Clark McCauley, Professor of Psychology, Bryn Mawr College; Co-director, National Consortium for Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START)

"An important contribution to understanding how collective identities of diasporas are being shaped by and in turn affecting international relations as well as domestic politics."
---Devesh Kapur, Director of the Center for the Advanced Study of India, University of Pennsylvania