Colombian migration to Europe: Political transnationalism in the middle of conflict

Anastasia Bermúdez Torres

Abstract:
This paper examines Colombian migration to Europe, and more specifically the United Kingdom and Spain, two examples of the growing diversity and complexity of international migration flows. The paper focuses on the transnational political practices of Colombian migrants in these two destinations with two aims. One is to contribute to the emergent field of transnational migration studies by going beyond traditional analyses of transnational political practices to include a wide variety of initiatives and activities that help maintain and boost migrants' involvement with the political life in their home country. The second is to provide a case study of the potential role that transnational communities and diasporas can play in conflict resolution in their societies of origin.

Keywords:
Transnational migration, diasporas, transnational political practices, civil society, conflict, Latin America, Colombia.

Authors:
Anastasia Bermúdez Torres is a PhD student in the Department of Geography, Queen Mary, University of London. Email: platypus@telefonica.net

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