Introduction 22 table 1.2. Metropolitan areas visited for data collection Libyan Case Syrian Case Yemeni Case Leeds, Britain London, Britain Manchester, Britain Southern CA, USA Washington, DC, USA Tripoli, Libya Bristol, Britain London, Britain Manchester, Britain Southern CA, USA Washington, DC, USA Birmingham, Britain Liverpool, Britain London, Britain Sheffield, Britain New York, USA Washington, DC, USA they frequently brought together a range of Arab Spring supporters from different national communities (For readers interested in the analytical approaches and strategies used for verifying and triangulating the data, please see the Methodological Appendix). In all, what began as a curiosity about diaspora activism led to fieldwork spanning several years and three continents. Thanks to the generosity of my respondents, it produced hundreds of conversations, over three hundred hours of voice recordings, and about two thousand single-spaced pages of transcripts and field notes. These data were analyzed to answer two questions: When do diaspora members engage in public, collective claims-making against authoritarian regimes? How and why do their mobilizations vary over time? 1.6 the conditions shaping voice after exit In answering these questions, the book’s central contribution is the provision of a set of conditions explaining when, how, and to what extent diasporas wield voice against authoritarian regimes. My argument, in brief, is that when homecountry ties subject diaspora members to regime threats and violence (transnational repression) and divisive political disputes (conflict transmission), antiregime voice will be weak. When quotidian disruptions at home upend these transnational deterrents abroad, diaspora members become empowered to capitalize on host-country political opportunities and express voice against regimes in word and deed. However, the extent to which they then intervene on behalf of rebellion and relief will be mitigated by two additional additive forces – that of resource conversion and geopolitical support by states and other international powerholders. When either or both of these forces are lacking, activists may be free to voice their claims on the street, but diaspora mobilization will do little to fuel rebellions and help their allies at home. The theoretical framework is detailed in Chapter 1. This chapter grounds my arguments in existing research and elaborates how the book’s theoretical contributions advance our understanding of transnational activism and voiceafter-exit among diasporas. Readers uninterested in theory may choose to skip directly to Chapter 2, which describes how the rise of authoritarian-nationalist https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009272148 Published online by Cambridge University Press