The arab uprising and their external dimemsions

Abstract

The 2011 Arab uprisings and their aftermath have highlighted the links between transnational and local politics.1 Still, the extent to which these transformations have diasporic dimensions has commanded little policy and research attention.2 This article puts forward observations as to whether—and if so, how—we can assess the impact of Arab migration on the post-2011 transformations in the Middle East. It draws on the findings I have reached as a result of my field research focusing on the activist politics of Egyptian, Syrian, Libyan, and Yemeni communities since 2011. The research was carried out in the United States, Germany, and Lebanon. Online interviews were also carried out with activists in England. The article calls for factoring in the consequences of migration on post-Arab Spring political change through a twofold prism. On one hand, Arab world out-migration dynamics and diaspora politics affect the balance of power among contending factions in Arab nation-states. On the other, states that receive migrants from the Arab world become de facto players in the Arab geopolitical landscape. Migration generates political linkages, making it impossible to disentangle local configurations of power from transboundary and global ones.