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Embedded Cosmopolitanism and the Politics of Obligation: The Ghanaian Diaspora and Development

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  • Giles Mohan

    (Development Policy and Practice Department, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, England)

Abstract

The author analyses how identities and obligations operate within the spaces of transnational communities and how this affects development. Within spatially diffuse communities, identities are fluid and overlapping, as are the obligations to multiple others—be that kin, ethnic group, or nation—in different localities. The author is concerned with the institutions through which these identities are formed and obligations are fulfilled. These include families, clans, hometown associations, and religious organisations, which link people ‘abroad’ to people ‘at home’. The author understands these spaces as a form of public sphere involving a ‘deterritorialised’ citizenship, which has been termed ‘embedded cosmopolitanism’. In this way, obligations are not legally defined but operate as part of the moral universe of those concerned. The case study is based upon recent fieldwork on Ghanaians in the United Kingdom and their connections to other Ghanaians outside Ghana and to those at home. The ways in which these complex networks of affiliation operate, as well as the ways in which the state seeks to ‘capture’ support from them, and how migrants selectively redefine both ethnic identities and family boundaries, are described.

Suggested Citation

  • Giles Mohan, 2006. "Embedded Cosmopolitanism and the Politics of Obligation: The Ghanaian Diaspora and Development," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 38(5), pages 867-883, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:38:y:2006:i:5:p:867-883
    DOI: 10.1068/a37216
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lyon, Fergus, 2000. "Trust, Networks and Norms: The Creation of Social Capital in Agricultural Economies in Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 663-681, April.
    2. J K Gibson-Graham, 2004. "Area Studies after Poststructuralism," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 36(3), pages 405-419, March.
    3. Michael Burawoy, 2003. "For a Sociological Marxism: The Complementary Convergence of Antonio Gramsci and Karl Polanyi," Politics & Society, , vol. 31(2), pages 193-261, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Nick Williams, 2018. "Mobilising diaspora to promote homeland investment: The progress of policy in post-conflict economies," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 36(7), pages 1256-1279, November.
    2. Bolzani, Daniela & Marabello, Selenia & Honig, Benson, 2020. "Exploring the multi-level processes of legitimacy in transnational social enterprises," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(3).
    3. Moreblessing T. Tinarwo, 2015. "Forging Ties: Social Capital Utilization by Zimbabwean Social Workers in Britain," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 851-869, November.
    4. Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph & Lu, Yindfa, 2018. "Historical Evolution of Entrepreneurial Development in the Global South: The Case of Ghana, 1957-2010," MPRA Paper 88179, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Ben Page & Claire Mercer, 2012. "Why do people do stuff? Reconceptualizing remittance behaviour in diaspora-development research and policy," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 12(1), pages 1-18, January.
    6. Ayona Datta, 2009. "Places of Everyday Cosmopolitanisms: East European Construction Workers in London," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 41(2), pages 353-370, February.
    7. Nerys Fuller-Love & Mofoluke Akiode, 2020. "Transnational Entrepreneurs Dynamics in Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: A Critical Review," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 6(1), pages 41-66, January.
    8. Sarah Neal & Katy Bennett & Allan Cochrane & Giles Mohan, 2013. "Living Multiculture: Understanding the New Spatial and Social Relations of Ethnicity and Multiculture in England," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 31(2), pages 308-323, April.
    9. Katherine V. Gough & Paul Yankson, 2011. "A Neglected Aspect of the Housing Market," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 48(4), pages 793-810, March.

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