The Transnational Political Engagements of Refugees: Remittance Sending Practices amongst Somalis in Norway

This article aims to provide insight into the transnational political engagements of Somalis in Norway, and focuses mainly on their financial contributions. Such an aim is inspired by the increased interest in the transnational political engagements of diaspora groups, which has not yet been matched by sufficient empirical research on the topic. The Somali case is particularly interesting, considering the effective state collapse and ongoing civil war as well as the salience of local level security providing mechanisms. The first part of the article comprises an overview of different types of political transnational activities refugees engage in and the second part discusses the empirical study. Interestingly, though not surprisingly, the main political engagements of the Somali community in Norway do not take place through interaction with 'the state' or transitional state institutions; rather, they occur on a sub-national level, not only in the political domain but also through humanitarian initiatives.