THE ROLE OF DIASPORAS IN CIVIL WAR

The document examines how ethno-national diasporas influence civil wars through financial contributions, military and political involvement, and international advocacy. It analyzes the dual nature of this influence, noting that while diaspora resources can prolong conflict by sustaining armed groups and hardening political stances, they also offer significant potential for peace through post-conflict reconstruction, the provision of skilled personnel for new institutions, and the promotion of human rights discourses.

• Diasporas can prolong civil wars by providing substantial financial resources to opposition groups, which can alter the local balance of power. This is often facilitated by informal value transfer systems like the hawala, which lack transparency and are used by groups such as Afghans and Somalis.
• The presence of a large diaspora in the US is associated with a higher risk of conflict recurrence; a World Bank report suggests a 36 percent chance of recurrence for countries that ended a civil war five years prior and had a large US-based diaspora, compared to 6 percent for those with a small diaspora.
• Diasporas provide critical military and political support, acting as recruitment sources for armed groups and breeding grounds for nationalist mythologies. Examples include the EPLF's mobilization of Eritrean refugees and the LTTE's reliance on the Tamil diaspora for resources and protracted insurgency.
• Diasporas engage in advocacy and lobbying to raise international awareness and pressure home states for change. This includes providing alternative information sources via the internet and television, as seen in the Algerian civil war, and engaging in 'ethnic lobbying' in US politics.
• Diaspora involvement carries risks of radicalizing conflicts because members do not face the physical consequences of war on the ground and may rely on outdated or second-hand information. In Darfur, this has reportedly led to a hardening of positions during peace negotiations.
• Conversely, diasporas can facilitate peace and stability by contributing to post-conflict reconstruction through remittances and by providing skilled personnel to staff new political institutions and civil services, as observed in El Salvador, Somaliland, and Afghanistan.

APA

Peace Research Institute Oslo (n.d.). THE ROLE OF DIASPORAS IN CIVIL WAR. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/a8c91053-3d21-46e2-8c3a-73c8861bc8c1/The Role of Diasporas in Civil War.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Peace Research Institute Oslo. THE ROLE OF DIASPORAS IN CIVIL WAR. n.d. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/a8c91053-3d21-46e2-8c3a-73c8861bc8c1/The Role of Diasporas in Civil War.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Peace Research Institute Oslo |title=THE ROLE OF DIASPORAS IN CIVIL WAR |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/a8c91053-3d21-46e2-8c3a-73c8861bc8c1/The Role of Diasporas in Civil War.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{peaceresearchinstituteoslondrole, author = {{Peace Research Institute Oslo}}, title = {{THE ROLE OF DIASPORAS IN CIVIL WAR}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/a8c91053-3d21-46e2-8c3a-73c8861bc8c1/The Role of Diasporas in Civil War.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }