This paper consists of two parts. The first part provides a general overview of the literature on global mobilities and modern diasporas and shows how thisliterature is relevant for our understanding of contemporary relationshipsbetween diasporas and homelands. The second part deals specifically with Slovenian diaspora, which was launched into the Slovenian political landscape during the process that eventually resulted in the proclamation of national independence. During this period diaspora played an active role in promoting political change in the homeland. However, in the post-independence period the diaspora became a passive subject, co-opted into predominantly right-wing political discourses that used it to legitimate nationalist Slovenianism. In these discourses the diaspora is clearly portrayed as an embodiment of nationalist and ideological ideals. The paper argues that there are two main problems with these nationalist projections of diaspora. First, they privilege those sections of diaspora which are politically active and supportive of traditionalist, nationalist and Catholic conceptions of Slovenianism. It overlooks that Slovenian diaspora has never been homogenous, that most members are politically uncommitted, and that reasons for emigration vary considerably: from economic, political, educational, lifestyle and professional. Second, it portrays diaspora as a remnant of the past rather than as an integral part of a contemporary process associated with the society of transnational mobility.
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