Ethnic groups and distance shrinking communication technologies

Ethnic minorities and diasporas make extensive use of distance shrinking technologies. This article discusses the variety of uses of new media by ethnic groups, particularly in the political sphere; the resultant construction of virtual communities and virtual spaces by these groups; the functions of local and trans‐state ethnic networks; the contributions of these networks to intrastate and global civil society in a ‘post‐national’ era; and the theoretical implications concerning the nature of ethnic groups and of the spaces carved out of cyberspace by these ‘real’ or ‘virtual’ communities.