Classical diaspora theories have long been associated with geographical mobility, particularly movement across national and cultural borders. My project seeks to decouple “diaspora” from “migration” by proposing a theoretical shift toward the concept of “Inner Diaspora.” This concept captures a condition of identity alienation produced by the friction between global discursive influences and the accelerating de Westernization of national narratives in non-Western contexts.

Viewed through the lens of contemporary Chinese youth, rapid social transformations can compress generational change into a single historical moment. This process pushes non migratory populations, especially those who grew up shaped by globalized imaginaries, to the margins of their own culture, now increasingly dominated by nationalist discourse.

It is not that you immigrated, but that the ground beneath your feet moved, leaving you a stranger in your homeland.