Discovering the Homeland. A New Generation of Armenian Diasporic Organizations

Focusing on parts of the global Armenian diaspora and the Republic of Armenia, the article highlights the emergence of relatively new, twenty-first-century modes of engagement between ?diaspora? and ?homeland?. In particular, examined is the role of a distinctive type of diasporic organization that positions itself as an intermediary facilitating young diasporic Armenians? travel to and volunteering in the country that is promoted as their ancestral homeland. The organizations in question display some ambivalence towards engaging with the Armenian state itself, largely bypassing the latter?s political and bureaucratic structures. Rather, these organizations operate in a ?grey zone?, an intermediate area between state actors, international organizations, and local community agencies, offering a model of decentralized transnational activism. Using three distinct examples of organizations of this type, the article shows that, while promoting broadly similar types of activity, these organizations create a diversity of ideological frameworks of diasporic mobilization and constructions of the ?homeland?. The article, furthermore, contrasts these with the Armenian state?s own modes of ?rooting? the diaspora. The article concludes that the politics of ?rooting? through transnational engagement between Armenian diasporic communities and the Republic of Armenia is likely to remain plural and decentralized, given the disparate nature of the Armenian diaspora as well as the relative weakness of the Armenian state.