Larissa Neves da Costa

Return programs promoted by African states, such as Ghana’s, have been celebrated as bridges for reconnecting the African diaspora with their ancestral heritage. However, these returns also transform memory, identity, and belonging into regulated political and economic resources, shaping how the diaspora is perceived and included. How does the state define criteria of belonging, articulate cultural diplomacy, and convert ancestry into an instrument of visibility and economic development? In what ways do cultural, economic, legal, and symbolic mechanisms turn ancestry into a political resource, creating tensions between individual agency and institutional mediation, while reproducing or challenging historical and contemporary inequalities? My research investigates these questions with a focus on the Beyond the Return program, analyzing its effects on social relations, economic dynamics, and the everyday practices of host communities. The study will be conducted through ethnography over six months in Accra, Ghana, combining participant observation at strategic program sites with an analysis of state-established return policies. The relevance of this study lies in its potential to advance debates on state-mediated return migration policies, memory, identity, and social belonging, offering innovative perspectives for African diaspora studies, ethnic-racial relations, and the anthropology of institutions.