Migrant remittances, both individual and collective, have caught the imagination of governments, NGOs and academics who wish these monies could play a more relevant role in fostering economic development in the international migrant's hometowns.

This paper examines the participation of hometown associations (HTAs) in the construction of public infrastructure and the creation of social projects in their communities of origin in Mexico by transferring money and other resources.

Based on ethnographic work, the paper focuses on the experiences of four HTAs that are based in Los Angeles. The members of two of these HTAs are from the state of Zacatecas and the members of the other two are from the state of Jalisco. The study explores the following topics: 1) the factors that led to the formation of these organizations; 2) their accomplishments and shortcomings since their inception; 3) the negotiations that HTAs establish with federal, state and local governments in Mexico; 4) the relations they maintain with other organizations in the United States; and, 5) the uses of the collective remittances they send to Mexico.

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From their arrival in Europe in the sixties as guest workers to their establishment as distinct communities in poor neighborhoods, immigrants from the Maghreb are reminders of a hegemonic colonial past and representatives of the poverty that still reigns in their homelands. They confront Europeans with a kind of imported poverty that is never ending, because the causes that produced their migration remain and Europe deals daily with the consequences of illegal migration. The inequality hiatus is growing even more complicated with global fundamentalism and the rise of the far right. Against this more complicated set of developments, second generation immigrants who are European citizens and have become socially mobile, are now awakening to the growing hiatus of global inequality. They contribute with others through NGOs and family networks to help rebuild the economic and social structures of their countries of origin. Because they think things are not getting better they try to use their experience to improve the situation. A growing number of websites is good indicator of new kind of bi-local citizenship. Drawing on interviews with first and second generation immigrants in Europe, as well as other sources, this paper identifies initiatives and efforts of Maghrebian diasporas in France and the Netherlands to minimize the growing inequality gap.

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How are places experienced when mobility becomes the constitutive frame of reference? In view of increasing transnational cultural flows and the unhinging of place and culture, the world of Indian programmers and entrepreneurs makes an interesting study: their complex subjectivities are not only unhinged from the place of their origin, they are oriented more generally to a place different from their immediate location. These programmers and entrepreneurs display a continuous nostalgia for the "other" nation; that is, they miss India while in the United States and long for American life when they go back to India. This subjectivity is not a mere effect of transnational economic processes; it is also constitutive of a transnational polity. It is in this light that I analyze the recent push in the Indian Parliament for granting dual citizenship to persons of the Indian origin.

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This paper examines the emergence of the "Persian carpet" as a modern cultural, economic and national commodity. Through an examination of the transnational circulation of the Persian carpet and its representation in Orientalist and nationalist discourses, both in Iran and in diaspora, this paper investigates the ways in which gender, race and nation have distinguished, defined and regulated the production, exchange and consumption of the Persian Carpet. I will argue that since the beginning of the 20th century, the Persian carpet has become an important part of the Iranian national identity. While the Persian carpet is a commodity, which is extensively produced by a feminized labor force, its exchange in the market and its transnational circulation is controlled by male traders and diasporic entrepreneurs and promoted by self-Orientalizing and nationalist discourses.

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Islam, as a faith and culture, has historically been a driving force around which people have coalesced, whether through the construction of empires, nations or communities. The Nizari Ismailis headed by the spiritual leader or Aga Khan Imamat, are a community which have organised themselves on the Muslim tradition of a communitarian ethic. Their long history has been patterned by migratory movements resulting in the settlement of Ismaili communities in more than twenty countries worldwide mainly in West and Central Asia, Africa, Middle East, as well as North America and Western Europe. From as early as the nineteenth century, there has been a strong initiative by the Aga Khan to consolidate and reorganise his followers into a modern Muslim community with high standards of education, health and social welfare. The implementation of these reforms led to the development of a highly-efficient institutional framework and administrative organisation to carry out the social, economic and cultural activities of the Ismaili diaspora. In the mid-twentieth century, however, processes of decolonisation, the creation of nation-states, and economic crisis in the Middle East instigated a shift of focus in the community's goals to industrialisation and modernisation programmes. These factors created an impetus for the expansion and evolution of the institutional framework into the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), a group of agencies working to improve living conditions and opportunities in specific regions of the developing world to people of all faiths, gender or origin. As a non-profit organisation, the AKDN is closely tied to the Ismaili Imamat, based on a strong Islamic ethos of compassion for the vulnerable in society and the duty to improve the quality of all human life. Thus there is a strong interdependence between the social principles of Islam as a culture, and the institutional framework for development as set up by the AKDN. From its headquarters in Geneva and its Secretariat in Paris, the AKDN institutions operate in social and economic development as well as cultural activities ranging from architecture, education and health to the promotion of private sector enterprise, the enhancement of non-government organisations and rural development. This paper examines the role of the AKDN from a number of perspectives, with a particular focus on the Network's activities in Pakistan as a case study. Firstly, the Muslim tradition as an engine of co-operation which has underpinned the evolution of the Aga Khan Imamat, in particular the mechanisms of fund-raising through religious dues and jubilee celebrations to finance modernisation and policies. Secondly, the transnational infrastructure of the Ismaili community in encouraging diasporas settled in the industrialised world to contribute to the progress of communities in the developing world through various development programmes. Thirdly, the various ways in which the AKDN encourages government policies in Pakistan to foster an 'enabling environment' of favourable legislative and fiscal structures. Finally, analyse a number of development projects in Pakistan from a specifically spatial lens of architecture, conservation and urban development. These various perspectives will shed light on the transnational co-operative practices of this contemporary Muslim diasporic organisation.

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Today, the majority of Palestinians live outside their ancestral homeland, while the minority remaining inside the country is segmented into three units with two experiencing occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the third holding Israeli citizenship. The Palestinian community is spread across the globe but the majority can be found in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and the Gulf States. No official numbers are available for the number of Palestinians in North America, however estimates range between 300,000-700,000 and mostly residing in major cities in Michigan, Illinois, Texas, Virginia, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Florida, and California. Just like other immigrants, Palestinians made their way to North America due to major conflicts and upheavals, which engulfed their homelands for the better part of the 20th century and it seems will continue into the 21st as well.

Being mainly a Diaspora community and the presence of extreme levels of restrictions on development and interactions with the homeland necessitated the emergence of unique patterns of interactions, which often provides relief and sustainability at a time of conflict. What are these unique patterns of development and interactions? What sectors do they impact? How can we document their effectiveness? What kind of governmental or non-governmental support do they receive? How best to improve their long-term success? These and many other questions will be answered once we examine the structure that exists within the Palestinian Diaspora community and how it managed to over-come unnatural circumstances to accomplish its stated goals. In addition, the presence of an extensive structure for United Nations Refugees and Relief Work agency for the Palestinians also adds another unique layer to this most complex of situation.

When we speak of Palestinian Diaspora relations with the homeland then we are dealing with various institutions focusing narrowly on immediate needs:
1. Medical Aid Focused Diaspora Groups
2. Food and Nutrition Focused Group
3. Education and School Supplies Focused Groups
4. Music and Cultural Expression Groups
5. Macro Economic Development Groups
6. Psychological Training
7. Political Solidarity
8. Village and Towns Associations

The paper will examine a number of specific projects carried out by a number of existing groups and provide conclusions pertaining to their effectiveness and possible ways to improve on them. The Palestinian Diaspora work has been and continues to be mainly focused on extending aid and relief to the occupied population, while patterns of development and technological transfer can be seen in other host countries. In this regard the know-how transfer has the side benefit of strengthening a sub-segment of the Palestinian Diaspora in the surrounding Arab countries, which also in turn contributes to an increase in aid and relief through family networks and village associations. This is the case with the Palestinians in Jordan and the Gulf States, who through their know how have been able to contribute massively to hospital construction, medical relief, educational development and basic daily needs. The uniqueness of Palestinian American Diaspora is its additional focus on Diaspora-Diaspora development and interaction as a means for providing aid and relief to the segments living in the homeland.

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The conventional belief expressed in the political economy literature is that globalization is diminishing the powers of the state. As a result of global convergence, national governments are believed to have less autonomy and authority in controlling their domestic economies. The emergence of new state institutions whose sole purpose is to facilitate relationships between emigrants and their home country challenges these ideas. These institutions are intended to regulate the recruitment of citizens for labor export, to provide representation and protection for them while abroad, to help channel remittances to their families, and to facilitate re-integration when they return home. With a country of 7.4 million people abroad in 141 different countries, the Philippines has developed these emigrant institutions for almost three decades. What are these institutions providing for migrant-sending states? By tracing the political and economic pressures leading to the development of emigrant institutions in the Philippines, this paper will challenge the findings of current globalization scholarship. It will argue that these institutions are a source of state strength and autonomy because they allow the state to regulate the movement of capital, reduce unemployment, gain foreign currency, obtain new skills for its labor force, and control the migration of its people.

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The Dominican Diaspora in the United States has played a proactive role in the economic development of its homeland. Close ties through different channels have been the norm. The remittances sent from abroad have served as one of the pillars of the Dominican economy, currently, representing 10% of GDP at 2.217 billion dollars in 2003. Likewise, a permanent communication between both communities through extensive travel and telephone calls, and active participation in politics are indicative factors that the Dominican Diaspora is very much in touch with its homeland. However, this trend will change in future generations, which will not have the same commitments, either financial or nostalgic, to safeguard the current levels of communications and economic support. Similarly, there are vast opportunities of exchange to be found in the areas of trade and investment, education, health, among others. Recognizing the importance of the Diaspora to the homeland development through its gained experience and know-how, valuable networks, and access to significant sources of technology and capital, the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development, initiated a project, in early 2003, aimed at strategically bridging the Dominican Diaspora to the homeland. The Global Foundation, a Dominican think-tank founded by former President Dr. Leonel Fern·ndez, advocates, as part of its mission, for the inclusion of the Dominican Diaspora in the national development agenda.

The project is structured democratically with the goal of promoting plurality and participation. The key actors are community leaders from the academic, civil society, political, and business sectors in the New York area, where over half of the Dominican population in the United States is found. The goal of this ongoing project is to produce the research, policy recommendations and Action Plan with pilot project proposals necessary to create effective links between both communities. The areas of focus, identified as key to the Dominican communityπs advancement, are: immigration and labor force, education, health, culture, remittances, trade and investment, technology, civic participation, and sports. All finding and products of this project will be shared with both communities in order to guarantee its impact and sustainability.

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