Political Transnationalism in Question: What Limits the Political Transnationalism of ‘Transnational’ Groups in Liberal Democracies 1985–2008?

Abstract

This chapter addresses the factors that limit or facilitate the development of political transnationalism of Dutch Antillean and Aruban postcolonial Dutch citizens in the Netherlands and the Brazilian and Peruvian Nikkeijin (Japanese descendants) in Japan. These groups are legal immigrants who inherit host state access because of shared Dutch citizenship and a Japanese visa (teijusha) based on consanguinity. While transnationalism usually implies simultaneous sociocultural belonging, attachment, and activity in two or more states, political transnationalism specifically refers to both formal and informal political activity in both the country of origin and the host country. In this chapter, I derive my definition of political transnationalism from Guarnizo (2001), as ‘to be incorporated formally and simultaneously ‘here’ and ‘there’ through privileges opened up by dual citizenship, and the reach … of government programs, political parties, and candidates for office from their countries of origin’ Guarnizo (2001:214). My research indicates extensive transnationalism in the way of sociocultural attachments and interaction, but very limited political transnationalism among Antilleans in the Netherlands and Nikkeijin in Japan. The literature on political transnationalism is rather silent on what makes groups already labelled ‘transnational’ become politically transnational. There has been little systematic attempt to explain the limited emergence of political transnationalism in these two cases.KeywordsHome CountryDual NationalityParty SystemElectoral RuleDual CitizenshipThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.