Voluntary and forced migrations over the past century have given rise to the number of displaced peoples and nations who consider themselves diasporas. The resiliency of these extra-territorial nations after displacement is something of a paradox in nationalism studies. For diaspora, the nation is simultaneously local and transnational, divided and caged by the confines of state borders, often intermixed with other ethnic groups, nations, and cultures, and yet, undeniably, a singular community. Through a comparative examination of the Assyrian and Chaldean diaspora in the United States, this dissertation uses boundary theory to explore the role of diasporic elites in making and sustaining a diasporic nation, and the events, identities, and ideologies that shape diasporic action. It draws from twenty-nine interviews held with Assyrian and Chaldean leaders in Michigan, Illinois, and California, and with policy-makers, as well as research into congressional documents, policy papers, and press reports. The multi-ethnic fabric of American society is formative to boundary-creation, and yet challenges its retention, providing an open society for ethnic expression and civic and political engagement, whilst at the same time facilitating assimilation and loss of diasporic culture and identity. Diasporic elites pursue institutional completeness to sustain diasporic presence in local societies, and cultivate national ideologies that in turn engender activism on behalf of the greater diasporic nation. The Iraq War served as a catalyst to nation-building, providing the first political opening in decades for diasporic actors to mobilize on behalf of Assyrians and Chaldeans in the homeland, seeking constitutional recognition as equal members of the Iraq state. However, the impermeable, exclusionary Iraqi national boundary wrought in conflict instead posed an existential crisis, forcing Assyrians and Chaldeans from Iraq and forcing diasporic leaders to confront questions of what will become of their nation if the homeland is lost. Revealed in the resulting political demands are two distinct strains of nationalism: that for resettlement into diaspora and continued integration into Iraq; and that for territorial autonomy within Iraq’s Nineveh Plain. This dissertation argues diaspora is a continuous, evolving product of boundary-making, often the result of diasporic elite mobilization. Diaspora is a nation not simply born of displacement, but formed through social boundaries encountered and made upon resettlement outside the homeland. Nationalism is a significant component of diasporic nation-building, offering insight into political goals, ideologies, and the dedication of diasporic elites to sustaining an Assyrian and Chaldean homeland, an atra, in diaspora.

La Déclaration christologique commune signée à Rome en 1994 entre l’Église catholique et l’Église assyrienne témoigne d’une volonté réelle de retour à la foi une et commune entre les deux Églises. Elle met un terme à une séparation datant du Ve siècle, lors des querelles christologiques entre les deux patriarches Nestorius et Cyrille d’Alexandrie. L’Église de l’Orient vit, depuis toujours, un double isolement : l’un géographique, politique et culturel car située jadis en dehors des frontières de l’Empire romain, et l’autre dogmatique et ecclésiologique dû à sa défense de maîtres œcuméniques condamnés tels Nestorius et Théodore de Mopsueste. Elle exploite des termes anthropologiques kyana (nature), qnoma et parsopa (personne), de la langue syriaque, à la base des controverses et des incompréhensions sur la personne une du Christ. Dans ce débat, le rôle de Mar Babaï le Grand, au VIIe siècle, est capital, car il donne, dans son livre Liber de Unione, une définition précise de ces termes et systématise la théologie syro-orientale. Il est à l’origine de la confession christologique : deux natures, deux qnomé en une personne. La Déclaration christologique de 1994, révèle au monde ce qui unit les deux Églises : la personne du Christ. Elle est le fruit d’un travail concerté du Conseil pontifical pour la promotion de l’unité des chrétiens et de l’Église de l’Orient. Le désir de Mar Denkha IV, de signer un accord christologique avec Rome a rencontré celui d’André de Halleux, du côté catholique et de Mar Bawai Soro, du côté assyrien. Le Comité mixte assyro-catholique poursuit cette tâche en vue de l’unité, de 1995 à 2004, épaulé par la Fondation « Pro Oriente ». En 2005, le dialogue est suspendu avec le refus de la signature de l’accord sur les sacrements par les Assyriens. L’année 2007, laisse entrevoir une reprise possible du dialogue entre les deux partis. / The Common Christological Declaration signed in Rome in 1994 between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church testifies to a genuine desire for a return to the common faith between the two Churches. It puts an end to a separation dating from the 5th century, due to the Christological quarrels between the two patriarchs Nestorius and Cyril of Alexandria.The Church of the East has always had a double isolation: one geographical, political and cultural since it was formerly outside the borders of the Roman Empire, and the other dogmatic and ecclesiological due to its defense of ecumenical masters condemned such as Nestorius and Theodore de Mopsueste. It exploits the anthropological terms kyana (nature), qnoma and parsopa (person), of the Syriac language, at the basis of the controversies and misunderstandings on the one person in Christ. In this debate, the role of Mar Baba the Great in the seventh century is crucial, for in his book Liber de Unione he gives a precise definition of these terms and systematizes Syro-Oriental theology. He is at the origin of the Christological confession: two natures, two qnome in one person. The Christological Declaration of 1994 reveals to the world what unites the two Churches: the person of Christ. It is the result of a concerted effort by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the Unity of Christians and the Church of the East. The desire of Mar Denkha IV to sign achristological agreement with Rome met that of André de Halleux on the Catholic side and Mar Bawai Soro on the Assyrian side. The Assyro-Catholic Joint Committee continued this task with a view to unity, from 1995 to 2004, supported by the "Pro Oriente" Foundation. In 2005, the dialogue was suspended with the refusal of the Assyrians to sign the agreement on the sacraments. The year 2007, aims at resuming the dialogue between the two parties.

During the last decades, the Christian population of Iraq is estimated to have decreased from about 1.5 million people to about 120,000. The historical examples of religious persecution are plenty, and in the last few years, the world again witnessed brutal violence against religious minorities, this time committed by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). By examining the narrative of the survivors of the persecution and violence, insight can be gained into what becomes meaningful for a person in the darkest situation of violence and threats, and how the available resources can be useful to cope with the situation in a way that makes sense of evil. Through an ethnographic approach, the inner lives of eight Christians from northern Iraq are explored in this thesis. Their personal stories demonstrate how a sense of coherence can be reached through being part of something greater than oneself; activism, nationalism, and most of all; religious faith, practice, and identity.

Doctorat en philosophie et lettres / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished