Where politics and temporality meet: Shi’a political transnationalism over time and its relationship to the Iraqi state

Abstract

ABSTRACT How do we explain change in political transnationalism over time? In what way does this change affect diasporic identities? And how does this change alter the relationship and power of diasporic actors towards their homeland states? This paper addresses these questions in relation to Iraqi Shi’a political transnationalism between London and Iraq pre and post-2003. I argue that the confluence of political opportunity structures and temporality, as experienced by political actors, shapes transnational practices. As political events in Iraq unfolded over time, Shi’a diaspora mobilisation patterns changed in line with political opportunities/threats in the homeland structural context. Simultaneously, stressing the agency of actors, the temporal contexts of each period emphasised different Shi’a identities due to the interpretation of time by diasporic actors. Consequently as opportunities and temporalities shifted, political transnationalism towards Iraq also changed empowering different actors and causes. This relationship previously marked by a long-distance nationalism (Anderson 1992) evolved to a transnationalism rooted in different ontologies. Observing political transnationalism over time therefore reveals the changing actors, shifting power dynamics, transnational identity politics and the relationship between diasporic actors and their homeland state.