Quote Originally Posted by SteveMetz
...The Tamil Tigers have probably made as much use of a global diaspora community as any insurgency (save perhaps the IRA).
In the 2001 RAND pub, Trends in Outside Support for Insurgencies, The LTTE is the focus of Chapter 3: Diaspora Support for Insurgencies.
...This chapter analyzes the scope and dimensions of diaspora support for insurgencies. It provides an in-depth examination of how the LTTE has harnessed its overseas migrant community, using it for funding, arms running, and a host of other activities. The LTTE's experience is not typical, but rather represents the apex of how an insurgent organization can exploit a diaspora for its own ends. Drawing on the LTTE's experience, as well as that of other insurgencies, the chapter then describes the reasons why immigrant communities often support insurgencies in their native lands and examines the difficulties that many host governments have in halting this form of assistance. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of the utility of diaspora backing in general and its value relative to states....