Exile and the politics of exclusion in the Americas

This collection of essays brings together leading experts in the study of exile and expatriation, whose historical and comparative perspectives enable readers to understand the phenomenon of forced displacement in the Americas. Political exile, a major political practice throughout most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, is still an under-researched topic. While ubiquitous and fascinating, with some notable and important exceptions, until recently it has been conceived as somewhat marginal for the development of these societies, instead being studied in the framework of traditional concepts and concerns in history and the social sciences. Following recent developments that highlight the centrality of diasporas and transnational studies, of transience and relocation, this book proposes that the study of exile should become a topic of central concern, closely related to basic theoretical problems and controversies on the structure of power, national representation and transnational displacement. The editors and contributors approach these issues through a nuanced reading of context and history. The work discusses the formative impact of exile in many of these societies at different times, while analyzing how it evolved and changed its character throughout the centuries. The systematic studies brought together in this volume will likely generate new readings of history and the societies in the Americas and the Diasporas, moving away from the traditional understanding of national histories towards more regional, transnational and even continental dimensions.

"Exile has had a profound impact on political ideologies. Distance from the country of origin, the inevitable weakening of social ties that accompany emigration, and the passage of time lead to a re-evaluation of the institutions and culture left behind, and of the political practices in which exiles had engaged in the past. Interaction with the host society, even if limited by the desire to limit new attachments, is also consequential. Paradoxically, a weak insertion in the new social environment is conducive to the development of comprehensive and nuanced appraisals of its institutions and culture. The joint effect of these new visions may pull exiles in different directions: toward extremism or the political center, toward totalitarianism or democracy. This volume will contribute to the understanding of how transnational political and cultural processes, a key one of which is precisely the experience of exile, interact with national processes in determining the direction of institutional change." - From the Series Editor's Preface by Carlos Waisman.