infonet-economy

The study of migration generally refers to immigration. Emigration is usually neglected. This study aims at bringing the attention to one aspect of emigration, namely emigration and diaspora practices. These are developed for different purposes and consist of a heterogeneous assemblage of measures. In common with many other countries, India and Jamaica have both joined these efforts to tackle emigration in specific ways. Instead of looking at these practices through “external” factors, as emphasised by the literature, we use the governmentality approach to highlight how different actors have thought about emigrant and diaspora practices and according to which rationalities they have been enacted. We show that both India and Jamaica problematise emigration in economistic terms, i.e. to contribute to economic development. In this context, diasporas denote only high-qualified emigrants. The results also reveal a topological picture of governmentalities at work: we witness regulatory rationalities in the form of neo-liberalism and welfarism, but also pastoral, disciplinary and sovereign governmentalities operating in the respective Jamaican and Indian settings.