Flexible Politics of Belonging: Diaspora Mobilisation in Ghana

This article analyses how the Ghanaian state has been involved in diaspora mobilisation since independence, including both the so-called African and Ghanaian diasporas. It presents two overall arguments. Firstly, the article shows that Ghanaian diaspora mobilisation draws upon the legacy of mid-century political Pan-Africanism, though with a neoliberal focus from the 1990s. From the 2000s, this legacy merges with the global trend of diaspora-development policies and their emphasis on contributions to national development, both in relation to African and Ghanaian diaspora mobilisation. Secondly, the article argues that while the various diaspora mobilisation efforts have resulted in limited policy changes and rights, they have value as political spectacles where the state demonstrates its interest in diaspora groups. Likewise, they are expressions of bio-politics and constitute opportunities for the state to assert its sovereignty. Finally, the article claims that diaspora mobilisation efforts constitute flexible and ambivalent politics of belonging, based on an inherent tension between long-distance autochthony claims and the state's focus on (mainly) economic resource mobilisation. Keywords: autochthonydiasporaframingGhanamigration policiesresource mobilisationspectacles Acknowledgements This article is related to the research programme 'Mobilizing African Diasporas as Agents of Change', funded by the Danish Council for Social Science Research and anchored at the Danish Institute for International Studies. An earlier version of the analysis of the Kufuor years has appeared in a DIIS Working Paper (Kleist Citation2011) and was presented at the 14th Metropolis conference in 2009, the Agents of Change international workshop in 2010, and the Nordic Development Research Conference in 2011. I thank the participants as well as Simon Turner, George Bob-Milliar, Ninna Nyberg Sørensen, Finn Stepputat, Darshan Vigneswaran, and Joel Quirk for constructive questions and comments; likewise I thank Ane Toubro for language revision. Finally, I remain grateful to the Ghanaian government officials and other interlocutors for sharing their thoughts with me. Notes For reasons of space, I do not touch upon how diaspora groups involve themselves in Ghana. See Gaines Citation(2006) for analysis on African-Americans during the Nkrumah years; and Essien Citation(2008), Hasty Citation(2002) and Pierre Citation(2013) for the Rawlings and Kufuor periods. For Ghanaian migrants in the 2000s, see Henry and Mohan Citation(2003), Kabki et al. Citation(2004), Mohan Citation(2008) and Nieswand Citation(2009). Nkrumah was one of the driving forces behind the establishment of the Organization of the African Unity (OAU) in 1963, but his visions of a federation of African states did not win political support among the majority of the newly independent African states (Asante Citation2007). An exception is the famous Soul to Soul concert, which took place at the Black Star Square at Ghana's 14th Independence Day, 6 March 1971, under the Busia state, bringing together Ghanaian and African-American music stars. The idea was originally proposed to Nkrumah but only realised after the coup. A documentary was made of the concert with a sequence filmed at the Cape Coast Castle, referring to the slave trade though the documentary did not mention the political history of Pan-Africanism (Gaines Citation2006; also see <www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_to_Soul> (film)). The 2012 celebration was cancelled, however. PANAFEST and Emancipation Day were combined into one event under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism in 2001 (Pierre Citation2013:129). Interview, MTDA, Accra, March 2008; also see Pierre Citation2013. After the change of government in 2009, the ministry changed name to the Ministry of Tourism, dropping 'Diasporaen Affairs'. The name refers to the 'biblical story of Joseph sold into slavery by his brothers in time of need and relating this to the Diaspora and their role in helping Ghana today' (MTMCC Citation2003:48). For an interesting analysis of the Joseph Project, see Delpino Citation(2011). See <http://www.modernghana.com/news/124163/1/refer-to-african-americans-as-anyemi.html>. Interview, Accra, March 2008. Interview, Accra, January 2010. The proliferation of genetic tests where African-Americans trace their ancestry to a specific locality in Africa, sometimes followed by 'return' trips (Fehler 2001) has made this market more promising. Though 20 former Ghanaian citizens had obtained it. Interview, Ministry of Interior, January 2010. Interview, Accra, February 2010. Ibid. See Manuh and Asante Citation(2005) for a more detailed analysis of the Homecoming Summit. For a thorough analysis of the actual policies, see Quartey Citation(2009) and Vezzoli (Citation2010). Migrant remittances culminated in 2007 with an estimated US$1.8-billion. Estimate kindly provided by Dr Addison, Director of Research, Bank of Ghana, 20 January 2010. Interview, GIPC, Accra, June 2008 and January 2010. Interview, Accra, January 2013. See <http://www.ghana.gov.gh/index.php/news/general-news/15546-iom-organises-colloquium-on-engagement-with-ghanaian-diaspora>. See <www.ghanaiandiaspora.com>. Interview, Accra, April 2008. See <http://www.ghanaimmigration.org/acquisi_info.htm>. See <http://www.ec.gov.gh/>. See Jacobsen Citation(2010) for an interesting analysis of biometric registration of migrant groups. Interview, Accra, April 2008. Interview, Accra, May 2008. Interview, Accra, June 2008.