Diaspora: Definitions and Characteristics

The term “Diaspora” is characterised with the concepts of dissemination, painful national memory, collective identity, loyalty to historical motherland etc. Yet, all these different definitions cannot fully exhaust this capacious concept, since the communities, the reasons for leaving the country, living conditions of new places and the mechanisms of preservation of identity are all different. What are the characteristics by which contemporary Diaspora studies are lead, when are the diasporas born and when do they die, what conditions are required to sustain their existence? Hayk Hambardzumyan spoke about these issues with Vahe Sahakyan, specialist in Diaspora studies.