Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2018, History

The following dissertation presents a narrative overview of Afghan immigration to the United States. It focuses on the manner in which political turmoil in Afghanistan influenced relations between the U.S. Afghan community and Afghanistan from 1890 to 2016. It also tests whether this relationship conforms to some of the most prominent scholarly models and theorizations of diasporas. In this study, the term “relations” encompasses individuals' interactions and associations with Afghanistan's society and government. This study finds a long history of diasporic relations between the United States and Afghanistan during this time-period. Historical events such as the British exit from South Asia in 1947, the 1978 coup in Afghanistan, and 2001 U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan have had profound effects on the U.S. Afghan community, influencing the feasibility of travel to Afghanistan, the nature of diasporic relations, and U.S policy toward Afghan immigration. As a result, U.S. Afghan diasporic relations can be broken into generalizable eras between these critical historical events. Furthermore, the era's politics influenced how the U.S. public perceived Afghans' presence in the United States. This dissertation also examines how immigrants and ethnic communities such as Afghans in the United States have pursued activities they believed advanced the interests of both their country of origin and adopted country.

Committee: John Grabowski (Committee Chair); Peter Shulman (Committee Member); John Flores (Committee Member); Pete Moore (Committee Member) Subjects: History