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In ”Empowering Diasporas: The Dynamics of Post-war Transnational Tamil Politics“, Luxshi
Vimalarajah and R. Cheran analyse the current trends and the transnational politics of the Tamil
Diaspora after the military defeat of the LTTE in May 2009. The main objective of the paper is to offer
a nuanced understanding of the Tamil Diaspora politics as it is being currently expressed globally
and specifically in the United Kingdom and Canada. This study examines the driving factors,
the underlying change theory and the internal as well as external dynamics to shed light on the
complex and multifaceted nature of Tamil Diaspora politics in the post-war era. The study aims to
initiate a new discourse among policy, academic and diaspora circles by critically analysing the
conventional understanding of the Tamil Diaspora.
The authors suggest looking at the Tamil Diaspora as a rational political actor vested with
interest and agency. The paper argues that the Tamil Diaspora will remain a critical factor in any
conflict resolution effort, including those by host countries, due to its ‘homeland’ politics and its
stance towards the domestic policies of the host, such as the United Kingdom and Canada. Hence,
any political settlement of the ethnopolitical conflict in Sri Lanka will only be sustainable if the
Tamil Diaspora is included as an essential stakeholder in conflict resolution efforts and their
concerns are given due consideration.
The paper emphasizes that the reorientation of Tamil politics after the war needs to be based
on the insight that every new beginning must incorporate a critical evaluation of its own history and
the errors of the past. The Tamil Diaspora can only remain a credible actor if it engages critically
with its own stereotypes, its enemy images, and if it explores new ground in terms of new networks
and strategic alliances that transcend ethnic boundaries. The success of Tamil Diaspora formations
depends not only on their capacity to mobilize their own constituency and on the access they
have to power-centres in the host countries, but also on how willing they are to assess their own
strengths and weaknesses.
In ”Empowering Diasporas: The Dynamics of Post-war Transnational Tamil Politics“, Luxshi
Vimalarajah and R. Cheran analyse the current trends and the transnational politics of the Tamil
Diaspora after the military defeat of the LTTE in May 2009. The main objective of the paper is to offer
a nuanced understanding of the Tamil Diaspora politics as it is being currently expressed globally
and specifically in the United Kingdom and Canada. This study examines the driving factors,
the underlying change theory and the internal as well as external dynamics to shed light on the
complex and multifaceted nature of Tamil Diaspora politics in the post-war era. The study aims to
initiate a new discourse among policy, academic and diaspora circles by critically analysing the
conventional understanding of the Tamil Diaspora.
The authors suggest looking at the Tamil Diaspora as a rational political actor vested with
interest and agency. The paper argues that the Tamil Diaspora will remain a critical factor in any
conflict resolution effort, including those by host countries, due to its ‘homeland’ politics and its
stance towards the domestic policies of the host, such as the United Kingdom and Canada. Hence,
any political settlement of the ethnopolitical conflict in Sri Lanka will only be sustainable if the
Tamil Diaspora is included as an essential stakeholder in conflict resolution efforts and their
concerns are given due consideration.
The paper emphasizes that the reorientation of Tamil politics after the war needs to be based
on the insight that every new beginning must incorporate a critical evaluation of its own history and
the errors of the past. The Tamil Diaspora can only remain a credible actor if it engages critically
with its own stereotypes, its enemy images, and if it explores new ground in terms of new networks
and strategic alliances that transcend ethnic boundaries. The success of Tamil Diaspora formations
depends not only on their capacity to mobilize their own constituency and on the access they
have to power-centres in the host countries, but also on how willing they are to assess their own
strengths and weaknesses.
