| dc.description.abstract | The role of the diaspora in ‘homeland' politics has become more visible over the last two decades, and the amount of diaspora literature focusing on diaspora contribution in the socioeconomic and political development of their countries of origin has significantly increased. In Africa, the focus has been on ‘large' diasporas such as the Somali, Eritrean and Zimbabwean diaspora and less attention is given to ‘small' diasporas like that of the Gambia that are making crucial strides in the politics of the ‘home' country. While the Somali and Eritrean diaspora are termed as "conflict diaspora," diaspora's such as Gambia are ‘non-violent' diasporas that received less attention in the African diaspora literature. In this thesis, I attempt to contribute to the growing literature on diaspora by providing an in-depth empirical analysis of the political involvement of the Gambian diaspora in homeland politics, particular in the December 2016 elections that resulted to Jammeh loosing. Primarily, I am interested in how the diaspora influence partisan politics in Gambia and secondly if, and how they contribute to the promotion of democracy through their political activities. Using multi-level research design comprising of case study and netnography, the thesis asks what role did the Gambian diaspora play in Gambia's recent democratization process and in what way their activities contribute to the promotion of democracy? Observing the difficulty to establish causality, the thesis argues that while the diaspora, which portrays itself as a ‘democracy movement' had considerable degree of influence in homeland partisan politics, their political outlook has less to do with democracy promotion, rather it has more to do with promoting their primary interest of removing Jammeh (#JammehMustGo) | en_US |
