Media and the limits of transnational solidarity: unanswered questions in the relationship between diaspora, communication and community

Abstract

In this article, I critically analyse the relationship between media and conceptualisations of diaspora as a form of imagined transnational community. Despite the central place of transnational media in understandings of diasporic communities, there is yet to be a sustained dialogue between theoretical understandings of diaspora and diaspora media studies. I argue that the role of transnational media in conceptualisations of diaspora is too often reduced to the facilitation of cross-border communities. Not enough attention is paid to the alternative possibilities, including the potential of media to challenge cross-border solidarities in ways that fundamentally undermine prevalent understandings of the media and diaspora relationship. As a way to address this issue, it is important that studies of diaspora and media incorporate non-diasporic media into their analyses.