Institutions and identity politics in the Armenian diaspora: the cases of Russia and Lebanon

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe article examines and compares the institutional structures of Armenian diasporas of Russia and Lebanon with the intention of identifying factors that could explain the diverging outcomes in institution building and identity preservation in these communities. The study also aims to contribute to the current understanding of how different diasporic communities of the same diaspora can have discrepancies in terms of their characteristics, institutional structures and policy outcomes. Based on the existing theoretical literature, the article explores the main factors that influence the characteristics of particular communities, including discussion of conditions in the hostland, the origins of community as well as the level of institutionalization of diasporic organizations. The article also explains the role of each of these factors and triangulates them with the results of in-depth interviews conducted with the representatives all core diasporic institutions in both countries. Concentrating on the characteristics of existing diasporic institutions, the article emphasizes the importance of interconnection and cooperation of those institutions in implementation of strategies and practices of identity preservation in the diaspora. The existing literature on the Armenian diaspora tends to either portray it as a homogenous entity or concentrate on case studies, that is, communities and subgroups. Hence, comparative studies of different communities within a single diaspora are understudied.