Politics of diaspora returnees and remittances
The global Somali diaspora plays a key role in local livelihoods, economies and politics. The Ethiopian government has deliberately sought to harness investments in local trade and business by its various diaspora communities. As this paper highlights, in Ethiopia’s Somali region, interactions between the diaspora and the regional government have taken on a particular dynamic in recent years. In exchange for securing their loyalty to the government and its development plans, diaspora returnees and investors obtain various privileges including access to loans. In this scenario of state-led diaspora engagement, the Ethiopian-Somali diaspora is by law prevented from playing a political role in its home country, but nonetheless contributes to stabilizing the current administration. While Ethiopia’s diaspora policy appears successful overall, it is partly undermined by clan favouritism and multiple bureaucratic hurdles.
This working paper is written by Kassahun Berhanu (Addis Ababa University and Forum for Social Studies, Addis Ababa) and is an output of the research program ‘Governing Economic Hubs and Flows in Somali East Africa (GOVSEA https://www.diis.dk/node/4195)
Kassahun Berhanu (2019), The political economy of diaspora remittences in the Ethiopian Somali region, DIIS Working Paper 2019:9, Copenhagen DIIS.