Abstract:
The global interest in diaspora engagement has been growing all over the world. Examples of this are policies linked to the return of qualified emigrants, to the promotion of brain gain or aimed at stimulating the formation of diaspora networks. Through public policies and an effective communication strategy it might be possible, at least from the point of view of the country of origin, to reverse the feeling of sociological loss that the expatriation of part of the national society represents. Based on a global mapping of the Portuguese associative movement, the article is structured in two parts. In the first part, we discuss the theoretical perspectives which have analysed the policies and practices of migrants’ attachment to their countries of origin. In the second, starting from the analysis of recent Portuguese emigration, we analyse, through a proposal of a typology, the current organisational forms of the Portuguese abroad.
Keywords
portuguese diaspora; associations; engagement practices; Portuguese migration