Political exile is a situation in which a government loses control of its territory and operates from abroad. A government-in-exile claims supreme authority of a country and is organized to perform acts of state. A government-in-exile may also claim that it will regain sovereignty in the future. Some governments-in-exile grow into powerful forces and pose a serious challenge to the current ruling power in their home country. Others remain only in symbolic form.
While some people in exile voluntarily choose to leave their homeland, many are forced from their homes by war, persecution, or other circumstances. While a distinction between choice and no choice is often made in these contexts, such a distinction can be misleading. For example, a person may be forced to leave their homeland for security reasons, but can still have a strong desire to continue a political activity there.
Regardless of the motivations for moving to another nation, exile often leads to the formation of communities that maintain links with their homeland through travels and other cultural practices. Such communities are also linked by ideological systems such as Afrocentrism and Negritude, which produce global black cultures that share common experiences of displacedness. Diasporic communities are also sustained through economic remittances, which return funds from members of the diaspora to assist their families at home.
Several governments-in-exile exist today, including the Palestinian National Authority and the Congolese government in exile headed by former rebel leader Christian Malanga. Some of these governments-in-exile have significant support from their host countries, but they are also often criticized by the population in their home nations.