Irish state diaspora engagement - "The Network State" and "Netizens"

The status of Irish sovereignty is perhaps more in question now than at any other time since the foundation of the state following the recent financial crisis and subsequent European Union/European Central Bank/International Monetary Fund “bail out” and austerity program. This crisis and its aftermath reveal the extent to which sovereignty is increasingly conceived in terms of state effectiveness in harnessing the flows of global capitalism.1 For example, since the 2008 downturn, the Irish state has actively engaged global Irish business leaders in aiding economic recovery from their positions of influence abroad. In 2009 the state moved to formalize relationships with influential members of the diaspora by establishing the Global Irish Forum (GIEF)2 and the Global Irish Network (GIN).3 These two flagship diaspora-engagement initiatives are aimed at harnessing those flows within the diaspora that might help integrate Ireland more effectively in the global economy. In this article, I argue that through these initiatives, some state functions are globally networked, creating a new form of networked membership. Sovereignty, in this context, works less as an effect of the will of the territorially bound people and more through the network state’s ability to achieve and maintain global competitiveness and economic growth.