'Claiming' the diaspora: Elite mobility, sending state strategies and the spatialities of citizenship

This paper addresses the scholarship on extraterritorial citizenship strategies implemented by sending states in order to mobilize elite emigrants and enhance global competitiveness. It argues that these strategies should be distinguished analytically from claims of 'diaspora'. The paper further delineates a geographical agenda by reflecting on, first, the contestations, and second, the aspects of negligence articulated in these strategies. Third, it argues that studying the proliferation of emigrant populations with multiple national affiliations helps illuminate the selectiveness of such strategies. Lastly, although geography is central to understanding these strategies, the processes studied also raise questions about the spatialities produced.