Sovereignty under Siege, or a Circuitous Path for Strengthening the State? Digital Diasporas and Human Rights

Conventional wisdom holds that globalization, and its specific contributing factors such as immigration, information technology, and the emergence of universal values that inform international law, poses a challenge to state sovereignty. This article analyzes this assertion by examining one case, which encompasses each of these factors. Following a review of the literature, this article describes the efforts, using information and communication technologies, of the Egyptian Copt diaspora to advocate for human rights and improved quality of life of Copts residing in Egypt. We conclude that while the theory and practice of state sovereignty are certainly evolving and increasingly complex, the essence of state sovereignty is not necessarily challenged by these trends and may even be supported by them.