Diaspora and Development? London-based Nigerian Organisations and the Transnational Politics of Socio-economic Status and Gender

Diaspora organisations are increasingly being lauded as important actors in the development of their communities and countries of origin. Focusing on London‐based Nigerian organisations and their interventions in Nigeria, this article assesses the particular claims that diaspora organisations reach,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inDevelopment policy review Vol. 30; no. 2; pp. 149 - 167
Main Author Lampert, Ben
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.03.2012
Subjects
Benefits
civil society
collective remittances
Diaspora
Economic development
Economic theory
Equality
Females
Gender relations
Income inequality
International agencies
Intervention
Migration
Nigeria
Nigerians
Opposite Sex Relations
Organizations
Politics
Sex
Sexual Inequality
Socioeconomic factors
Socioeconomic Status
Studies
transnationalism
Women
Nigeria
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Summary:Diaspora organisations are increasingly being lauded as important actors in the development of their communities and countries of origin. Focusing on London‐based Nigerian organisations and their interventions in Nigeria, this article assesses the particular claims that diaspora organisations reach, benefit and ‘empower’ women and ‘the poor’ at ‘home’. It argues that, while many London‐based Nigerian organisations do connect with and support these groups, they often do so in ways that reinforce rather than transform established gender relations and socio‐economic inequalities. If international agencies are to support the progressive potential of the organised diaspora, it will be necessary to acknowledge the alternative and socially mediated ways in which development might be imagined and enacted both in diaspora and at ‘home’.
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ArticleID:DPR569
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Funding from the University of London's Central Research Fund and the Department of Geography and the Graduate School at University College London made fieldwork in Nigeria possible. He is grateful to Ade Fashade, Giles Mohan, JoAnn McGregor, Yomi Oloko, Ben Page, David Styan, Nicholas Van Hear and two anonymous referees for helpful comments on earlier versions of this article and especially grateful to the organisations and individuals who participated in this research.
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ISSN:0950-6764
1467-7679
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-7679.2012.00569.x