Afghan diaspora in Europe: The agents of peace and development

The dominant pushing factors for large Afghan migration in the last forty years have been the invasions, civil war and the rule of the hardliner Taliban government. As result of massive migration, a considerable number of Afghan diaspora and transnational communities have emerged around the world particularly in European countries. The current research will explore in what ways do the Afghan diaspora organizations and community members in Europe engage themselves in the development of their ‘home’ country. It also attempts to investigate the types of their engagements and its transnational aspects. The development-diaspora nexus have gained increasing attention in recent decades. The media, donor agencies, academia, and the international organizations have started to look into diaspora as development actors and peace promoters. This study is based on sixty in-depth interviews in Austria, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands and Sweden.