Description
Diasporas as defier of conventional meaning of state receive growing attention from policy makers around the world. Moreover, recognition of importance of diaspora in international affairs increases due to their roles and activities. They organize and create ethnic lobbies and advocate multicultural foreign policies. They are, sometimes, acting as mediators or bridge that can support developing relations between their homeland and host land. However, they also can be reason of relationship breakdown. In this research, I will examine the roles and impacts of diasporas in international affairs by case studies which are related to Turkish Diaspora in Germany and Armenian Diaspora in France. This study will discuss to what extent of impact of Turkish Diaspora is on Germany’s foreign policy compared with Armenian Diaspora in France. More than 5 million people of Turkish descent live in Europe. They have important impact on not only Germany’s foreign policy but also European policy. However, despite huge potential of Turkish Diaspora for diplomacy, they are not effective as much as Armenian Diaspora due to their divided organization structure, little interest in European politics and political parties, lack of conceptual discussions about meaning of Turkish Diaspora and deficiency of formation of Diaspora consciousness. Also, some cultural, social, and political similarities which are different from Turkish between European and Armenians bolster up the diplomatic power of Armenian Diaspora in France. In this study, I draw on data about perception and sphere of Diasporas, depth interview, document review, survey and statistic.
