Second generation diaspora: pandemic, development and connection

ABSTRACT

The new millennium has seen a proliferation of scholarship and research addressing the relationship between diaspora and development. Conventionally, it is assumed that the second generation in the diaspora experiences a diminishing attachment to their countries of origin. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, diasporas have been at the forefront of supporting their communities at home and abroad. In this article, we examine the contribution of the second-generation diaspora to the country of origin in South Asia to provide comparative insights across time, countries, and types of crises. We examine the transnational framework in the context of ‘diaspora’ and ‘engagement during the pandemic,’ drawing on transnational scholarship. This provides an opportunity to examine the means, motivations, and agency of diaspora members – and their descendants – in transnational activities with a clear development objective. The study offers actionable recommendations for better-leveraging diaspora contributions in times of crisis.

KEYWORDS:

• Diaspora
• pandemic
• globalisation
• NGO
• migrants
• remittances

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jannatul Ferdous

Jannatul Ferdous is serving as an Associate Professor at the Department of Public Administration, Comilla University, Bangladesh. She received the B. S. S. (Hon's) degree and M. S. S. degree in Public Administration from the University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2008 and 2009 respectively. She completed her M. Phil in Public Administration at, the University of Dhaka. She received a Ph.D. at the Department of Development Studies, the University of Dhaka titled ‘Citizens’ Trust and Good Governance in Local Government Institutions (LGIs): A Comparison of Two City Corporations.’ She is a contributor to a number of research articles in various reputed national and international journals and ten books. Currently, she is serving as the Chair of the technical committee of the ‘Combating Gender-Based Violence’ project of UN Women. Her current interest in research includes migration, governance, e-governance, trust, civil service system, gender, public policy, climate change, gender, and development.