Diasporas as Agents of Political Change: The Role of the Oromo Diaspora in the 2015 Oromo Protest in Ethiopia

Abstract

Diasporas are significant actors in the international political arena. By leveraging
the human and financial capital in their possession, operating in a more open
political space, and enabling access to information and communication
technologies, the diasporas are well-positioned to contribute to socio-political
change in their respective places of origin and settlement. This article aims to
understand the role and influence of the African diaspora in the political affairs of
their homeland, taking the case of the transnational political practice of the
Oromo diaspora and their involvement during the 2015 Oromo protest that
propelled political change in Ethiopia. It does so by examining how the new
identity of the educated Oromo youth developed and contributed to the emergence
of a vibrant diaspora community committed to bringing about democratic change
in their homeland. The article further discusses how the expansion of
transnationalism and the Internet interacted with the politicized ethnic identity of
the new generation of the Oromo diaspora to reframe and organize the popular
protest against repression in their homeland. The article is based on primary and
secondary data collected through interviews, focus group discussions, and social
media analysis. This article shows that the diaspora's involvement in homeland
politics contributed to the diffusion and scale shift of the 2015 Oromo protest,
transforming it into a transnational human rights agenda. It further explicates that
the Oromo protest brought about harmony and political solidarity among multiple
ethnic identities and political views of the Ethiopian diaspora to challenge the
regime in their homeland.