Between War and Peace - The Tamil Tigers and Their Diaspora

This article deals with the relationship between migration and development in war and peace. In Sri Lanka the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are fighting for independence with diaspora support. When a peace-process was initiated between 2002 and 2006, diaspora turned into valuable development actors. This contribution focuses on commitment to LTTE's parastate, particularly its welfare and development institutions. The diaspora provided financial resources and commitment as volunteers and consultants. When the war resumed in 2006, diaspora-commitment changed again. This contribution particularly highlights that diaspora's room to manoeuvre depends on the specific contexts and how, given national belonging as a precondition, diaspora's positioning and options for taking action can change in relation the political context.