Expatriate experts and globalising governmentalities: the New Zealand diaspora strategy

Governments across the world are thinking about their expatriate populations in new ways. These new understandings of expatriates emerged as the problem of ‘human capital’ became central to development strategies premised on increased participation in the globalising economy. The ‘expertise’ of expatriates has also been re‐imagined through a series of interlinked ideas relating to knowledge, brokerage and leadership. This paper examines recent attempts to link expatriate experts to national economic development projects through a case study of the New Zealand diaspora strategy. Drawing on literature reviews, internet searches, key informant interviews and participation in London‐based New Zealand expatriate initiatives, the paper shows how the interaction of governmental strategies and individual mobilities is bringing globalising spaces and subjects into being.