Courting Migrants

This remarkable book succeeds in opening the 'black box' of political diaspora engagement. Drawing from rich case studies, Burgess demonstrates that diaspora engagement is not a one-way process but rather consists of continuous 'feedback loops' through which competing interests and identities are negotiated. This innovative approach makes Courting Migrants an important and timely contribution to the still emerging research field of migration and democracy-building. * Stefan Rother, author of Democratization through Migration? Political Remittances and Participation of Philippine Return Migrants * This fresh approach to understanding migrants' political ties with their homelands compares four different countries and their diasporas. Moving beyond stale debates about whether these ties exist, Burgess shows the conditions under which they flourish or fade and how they shape struggles for power. * David Scott FitzGerald, author of Refuge beyond Reach: How Rich Democracies Repel Asylum Seekers * Burgess makes a significant contribution by offering a much-needed comparative, cross-regional perspective to understand diaspora engagement as a set of interactive and continuous processes of mutual transformation for both migrants and states across time and space. Through original conceptual and empirical interventions, this book raises key questions about political membership and democracy-building through the lens of migrant participation across borders. * Alexandra Delano Alonso, author of From Here and There: Diaspora Policies, Integration and Social Rights Beyond Borders * In this insightful, expansive analysis, Katrina Burgess takes us to Mexico, Turkey, the Philippines, and the Dominican Republic to uncover how states make migrants and migrants make states. Combining lively detail, statistics, and national stories, she puts forth a novel theoretical framework that breaks down the complex pressures on emigrant engagement. In the process, she offers critical insights on how migrants may help build democracy. Courting Migrants will be essential reading for anyone concerned with migration, politics, or the interplay between them. * Abigail Andrews, author of Undocumented Politics: Place, Gender, and the Pathways of Mexican Migrants * This timely and engaging book is a stimulating contribution to the broader understanding of diaspora-state relations. Through a well-framed and insightful comparative analysis, Burgess shows how diaspora-making strategies and migrant political engagement interact and under which conditions migrants conform to or challenge homeland authorities. Importantly, the inspiring theoretical framework and analysis highlight the crucial role of transnationalized political parties in migrant-state relations. Courting migrants is an invaluable step towards a stronger dialogue between studies of migration and democratization. * Eva Ostergaard-Nielsen, Autonomous University of Barcelona *