"Democracy by the "Other

How Ethiopian Diaspora Communities in Virginia Engage in Political Participation

Bibliographic Data

ID4944807
AuthorsClaudine Kuradusenge-Mcleod (0009-0007-6673-7135, American University, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume25
Issue1
Pages139-156
Publication date2025-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDiaspora A Journal of Transnational Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1044-2057 • E-ISSN: 1911-1568
PublisherUniversity of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.3138/diaspora.25.1.2024.11.15
OpenAlexW4404992418
LanguageEN
References cited14

In November 2021, Glen Youngkin, a Republican candidate, won the election for governor of Virginia. For many Virginians, his win was a surprise, especially since President Donald Trump had endorsed him. For Ethiopian communities, the election results were the outcome of months of lobbying and organizing due to their dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party leadership. This development highlights the direct consequences of US foreign policy on its domestic political environment, especially regarding issues ethnic communities care about and how they can influence democratic processes. In this line, this study investigates the relationships between host and homeland political rhetoric and the importance of understanding the political power of diaspora-based conflict communities. Using narrative inquiry, I analyzed the reasons behind the 2020 voting trends among Ethiopian communities in Virginia. For Ethiopian Americans, the ongoing war in the Tigray region, as well as the mainstream media and US government's framing of who is the victim and who is the perpetrator, demonstrates an unwillingness to engage with Ethiopian scholars and practitioners as well as a lack of historical and political understanding coming from the US government. In this polarized time, Americans cannot ignore the direct impact of foreign policy on domestic institutions and how immigrants contribute, through voting, to the election of public servants, including presidents and states representatives

Democracy · Diaspora · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Gender Studies · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Law · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy

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