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Abstract
The purpose of this study has been to determine if diaspora theory can be adapted to the study of resource-deprived ethnic networks involved in transnational political activism. Such networks are termed liminal diaspori in this study. A model was developed by conjoining elements of diaspora theory to an institutionalist political economy approach, and then applied to an ideal case study of a liminal ethnic network. The case study focused on the Black Star Line (BSL,) a merchant marine created, financed and managed by the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). The BSL was to be the foundation of a black enclave economy that would support the black nation that the UNIA planned to establish in Liberia, West Africa.
The findings of the study were illuminating. African-American transnational activism may be traceable to the existential concern regarding the ability of the black race to survive derogation and economic marginalization and regain independence and equality. The model was able to identify several of the UNIA's strategies and reconfigured Western institutions that facilitated the development of an effective political and economic network, which linked African diaspora communities to each other and to West Africa. Start-up funds for the BSL were realized by the prudent reliance upon numerous small contributions from all participating investors throughout the diaspora. Centralization enabled effective collection of funds and communication with branches. The BSL acquired three ships, two of which operated briefly between the United States and the Caribbean. The line floundered because of insufficient administrative skills in shipping, which was probably an outcome of discriminatory education and circumscribed employment opportunities; and authoritarian management, internecine and intra-racial ideological contention, assimilative effects and government intervention. Although liminal diaspori are virtually defenseless, they can and do impact international politics. Nation-states will intervene in diaspora activism if it disrupts economic systems, such as production or labor relations. Thus, the study suggests that in addition to resource deprivation, insufficient education and experience, ideological contention and state intervention inhibit the political effectiveness of liminal diaspori; but such activism will continue as long as group survival is deemed at stake.
