INCENTIVIZING LOVE FOR HOMELAND: DUAL CITIZENSHIP AND AFRICA DIASPORA

Abstract

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is one of the poorest regions of the world with almost half of the population living on less than $1.25 per day. Despite enormous human and mineral resources and over one trillion dollars spent on aid to the region, extreme poverty, infrastructure deficits, and joblessness are widespread. Following Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach, the paper argues that external support is needed to break the lethargies and strongholds sustaining underdevelopment in SSA. In particular, a sustained flow of essential financial, physical, intellectual, managerial, technological and entrepreneurial competencies is required to transform the region’s natural endowments into capability or functionality. But experience has shown that the required doses of external support are unlikely to come from traditional sources like external loans, foreign direct investment or aid and donations. However, the steady inflow of remittances in recent years strongly suggests that closer association and fraternizing with Africa diaspora and Afro-descendants can build the much needed pipeline for steady inflow of the above listed developmental resources. Accordingly, it is proposed here that granting dual/multiple citizenship to interested Africa Diaspora and Afro-descendants, similar to Israel’s right of return, will propel the reverse transfer of developmental resources from advanced North to Africa, and directly promote SSA’s socioeconomic emergence with economy of time and effort.