DIASPORA POLITICAL MOBILIZATION – THE CASES OF ALBANIAN AND UYGHUR DIASPORA TRANSNATIONAL ACTIVISM

TRAILOVIĆ Dragan (Research Associate, Institute for Political Studies, Belgrade), dragan.trailovic@ips.ac.rs

This paper deals with the transnational political activism of the Albanian and Uyghur diaspora organisations in comparative perspective. Starting from the similarities in the behaviour of the two diasporas on the international level, the paper explores the main mobilization practices, effective strategies and master discursive frames that were used by the Albanian and Uyghur diaspora organisations in attempts to achieve secessionist objectives and independence. The paper shows how the Albanian and Uyghur diaspora internationalize the Kosovo and Xinjiang issue by involving international state and non-state actors and adapting their political demands to the interests of international actors, which provided them with financial, political and moral assistance in their effort to resolve the Albanian and Uyghur national cause. Also, the paper deals with the Albanian and Uyghur organizations in the diaspora which used violent means of achieving political goals.

Keywords: diaspora, transnational activism, lobbying, human rights discourse, Kosovo and Metohija, Xinjiang