Abstract

The article discusses and assesses the theoretical and conceptual approaches to diaspora research presented in this special section. By pursuing multiple forms of comparison, these contributions highlight several weak points inherent in the diaspora concept as it stands and demonstrate potentials for possible elaborations. Specific consideration then is given to the more detailed discussion of questions of power; the dynamics of processes of identification; and the relevance of specific positions inside wider ethnic hierarchies, sociospatial distribution patterns and demographic issues, and, finally, kinship ties and the reproduction of diasporic communities. The argument concludes with the main point that prevailing theoretical approaches in diaspora studies are not sufficient to analyze the communities in question. Instead, those approaches have to be combined with additional input from sociocultural anthropology’s theorizing.

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