Narratives shaping the perceptions of the second-generation Afghan diaspora: is Afghanistan a militant, occupied and politically disordered country?

ABSTRACT

The second and third generations of the Afghan diaspora, living abroad, hold diverse views about their homeland. Our findings suggest that these individuals have shaped perceptions influenced by their parents’ migration stories, emphasising challenges like political instability and conflict. Growing up with narratives of their family's history, they gain insights into Afghanistan's complex political landscape, including the Soviet occupation, U.S. involvement, and the rise of the Taliban. These stories, often detailing hardships like displacement and human rights abuses, play a crucial role in connecting them to their roots and shaping their identity within the Afghan diaspora. This article uses qualitative narrative analysis to analyse how narratives shape perceptions within the second-generation Afghan diaspora. The article sheds light on the complex interplay between individual experiences and broader socio-political contexts, enriching diaspora research with an understanding of identity formation and transnational belonging.

KEYWORDS:

• Afghan
• diaspora
• second generation
• identity development

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

A. K. M. Ahsan Ullah

AKM Ahsan Ullah is Associate Professor of Geography, Environment and Development at the University of Brunei Darussalam (UBD). He has an extensive research portfolio and has worked with prestigious institutions such as the City University of Hong Kong, IPH at the University of Ottawa, McMaster University, Saint Mary's University, Dalhousie University in Canada, the American University in Cairo (AUC), Osnabruck University, Germany, and the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand. His research areas include migration and mobilities, intercultural encounters and development, with a geographic focus on the Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Middle East, and theoretical focus on globalisation and neoliberalism, development and human rights, transnationalism, gender, intersectionality and the everyday life.

Diotima Chattoraj

Dr. Diotima Chattoraj is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the department of Social and Health Sciences in James Cook University, Singapore. Also, she is a Research Fellow at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information in Nanyang Technological University. She was a former Researcher at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at NUS, in collaboration with NTU and SMU. Prior to that, she was based as a Researcher at the Faculty of Social Sciences (FASS) in Universiti Brunei Darussalam and was involved in several research projects on Asian migration. She completed her PhD at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany in 2016. Her research interests include Asian migration, mobility, development, ethnicity, international relations, and boundary-making. She has authored more than 25 journal articles, 4 books, 9 book chapters, and 9 book reviews, in leading journals in migration and development namely, Mobilities, International Migration, South Asia Research, India Quarterly, Asian Journal of Social Sciences, International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies and many more. Additionally, she is the Deputy Editor of South Asia Research (Sage) and serves as a peer reviewer for a number of refereed journals.