The Role of the Ethiopian Diaspora in the United States in Shaping Investment, Democratization and Remittance
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Date
2020-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Throughout the history of mankind, human being have migrated in search of better opportunities and better life. In the 1980s and 1990s, migration undermines the development of local economies resulting in a state of stagnation and dependency. Nevertheless, Migration has diverse socio-economic impact ranging from increasing better opportunities for migrants to an improved livelihood of sending households and to contributing economic growth. Since migration have implication on the development of the political economy of the country of origin, migrants/diasporas have the potential to make several contributions.
Nowadays, the central discourse of diaspora its role since the diaspora became an element of self reference and political identification through attaching national identity as domestic actors. In doing so, diaspora groups exert influence on the political economy of the homeland. Diaspora members use their financial resources, a side from exerting indirect influence through contributions to various civil society projects. On the other hand, they exert more direct influence through political support to parties or candidates of their choice. They also use their diplomatic leverage to advance their interest in the homeland and serves as a means of highlighting how they engage in domestic politics.
Today more than three million an estimated Ethiopians are residing in a different region of the globe. The contribution of Ethiopian diaspora played in the process of shaping Investment, democratization and Remittance of the country is significant. However, the Ethiopian government policy tends to depict conflict of interest while dealing with its diaspora. On one hand, the government recognizes Ethiopian diaspora as having immense and untapped potential for fostering socio- economic development of the country through investment, remittance, transfer of knowledge and skills, technology and promoting democracy and good governance. On the other hand, the government remains hesistant to open the door for the diaspora for extensively engaging in the country’s development and democratization process. Due to this fact, the Ethiopian diaspora tends to support opposition parties rather than the ruling party, lobby governments and other actors in the host countries to shape policies of the Ethiopia government, staging demonstration and remotely organizing and leading civic resistance and economic sanction by withholding remittances. So in order to control the political damages that the diaspora creates, the Ethiopian government considers the political activism of the diaspora as its major concern. Nonetheless, the
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Ethiopian government must create an enabling environment and establish strategic collaboration with the diaspora in order to improve its relationship with the diaspora.
Out of about three million Ethiopians who reside in the different regions of the globe, more than half a million lives in the United States. The Ethiopian diaspora in United States has established numerous, well-funded organizations throughout the United States. The core activities of these organizations focus on supporting development ventures in Ethiopia and provision of social services and integration and welfare assistance to Ethiopians in the United States. The diaspora in United States also tries to influence United States policy towards Ethiopia towards enhancement of democracy and human rights. The Ethiopian diaspora in the United States plays significant role in investment, democratization and remittance in the home country, which this study examines on the basis of information collected from primary and secondary sources.
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The Role of the Ethiopian Diaspora in the United States in Shaping Investment, Democratization and Remittance