Diasporic Memberships in Historical Perspective: Comparative Insights from the Mexican, Italian and Polish Cases

Abstract

This article compares the evolution of diaspora-sending state relations for Mexico, Italy, and more briefly, Poland during their peak periods of out migration. I argue that sending-state diaspora relations evolve through the state's changing relations with the global system, their domestic politics, and migrants’ ability to act politically with respect to the homeland. This research shows the state helping to create diasporic or transnational space. It also contributes to the analytical work of fleshing out examples of transnational life in history, and examines a case (the Polish one) where the global system and other conditions combine to overwhelm transnational life.