Diaspora Philanthropy in the Context of Policy Coherence for Development: Implications for the post‐2015 Sustainable Development Agenda
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12277 |
| Published date | 01 February 2017 |
| Date | 01 February 2017 |
| Author | Harlan Koff |
Diaspora Philanthropy in the Context of
Policy Coherence for Development:
Implications for the post-2015 Sustainable
Development Agenda
Harlan Koff*
ABSTRACT
Thus far, there has been a dearth of studies that systemically examine the relationship between
diaspora philanthropy, the development community and securitised migration regimes. This
article addresses this by responding to the research question, “How coherent are securitised
migration policies with diaspora philanthropy and the transformative development objectives
that characterise the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda?”The analysis is based
on the concept of policy coherence for development (PCD). The article compares the simulta-
neous regionalization and securitization of European Union and United States migration poli-
cies and contends that these policy strategies undermine diaspora philanthropy, development
partnerships and transformative development. Normative change must be introduced in order
to establish coherence between globalized migration policies and diaspora philanthropy objec-
tives. Normative coherence for development can be achieved by introducing principles from
the SDG’s and the Busan Development Partnership Agreement amongst other international
development agendas, into migration policy-making at the national and regional levels.
INTRODUCTION
The year 2015 was characterized by an important paradox in relation to development and migra-
tion. On one hand, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) announced in September of that
year were supposed to change the indicator-based Millennium Development Goals (MDG) into a
more transformative development programme, including human rights. Conversely, the high profile
crises related to unauthorized sea-based migration in the Mediterranean Basin and the terrorist
attacks of 13 November in Paris provided explosive fodder for political discourse painting asylum
seekers as security threats. These contrasts highlight the character of debates on migration and
development: migrants are simultaneously viewed as risks and resources. Consequently, the rela-
tionship between migration and development remains ambiguous.
Even though the nature of the relationship between migration and development remains unclear,
migrants have historically contributed to development as actors. This has been widely recognized
by international organizations and financial institutions which have focused numerous initiatives on
migrant remittances. Officially recorded money transfers to the developing world totalled US$ 440
billion in 2015, representing 75% of all remittances worldwide (http://www.worldbank.org/en/
* University of Luxembourg
doi: 10.1111/imig.12277
©2016 The Author
International Migration ©2016 IOM
International Migration Vol. 55 (1) 2017
ISSN 0020-7985Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
To continue reading
Request your trial