How do violent democratic politics affect both state- and migrant-driven political transnationalism? And how does migrant transnationalism affect violent democratic politics in sending countries? Violent democracies are countries in which the legitimate means to accessing power is no longer violently contested (it is through competitive elections), yet a multitude of actors regularly use violence as a means of competing within established democratic institutional frameworks. They comprise major migrant-sending countries, such as Bolivia, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, India, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, and the Philippines.
Drawing on a variety of research methods, and using evidence from various regions of the world, the collection of articles’ focus on migrant political transnationalism involving political regimes where institutionalized electoral competition and civic rights and freedoms interact
closely with informal, hidden, and illicit violent practices yields novel insights. Concretely, the particular nature of politics in violent democracies uniquely affects modes of transnational political engagement as well as migrants’ sense of political agency and purpose. Additionally, transnational migrants’ resources and cross-border networks contribute to deepening and internationalizing existing violent democratic practices. Moreover, state-to-emigrant outreach does not necessarily foster competition and inclusion, but can instead reinforce violent democratic orders.
Edited by Clarissa Perez-Armendariz
Plural violence(s) and migrants’ transnational engagement with democratic politics: the case of Colombians in Europe
By Anastasia Bermudez
Published on: 15 June 2022
Transnational gangs and criminal remittances: a conceptual framework
By Michael Ahn Paarlberg
Published on: 08 June 2022
Transnational voting rights and policies in violent democracies: a global comparison
By Benjamin Nyblade, Elizabeth Iams Wellman & Nathan Allen
Published on: 12 July 2022
“My guitar is my rifle”: Mexican migrants mobilising unconventionally through arts
By Larisa Lara-Guerrero & Sebastien Rojon
Published on: 07 November 2022