Constructing nationality for transnational life: PRC student migrants

Abstract

Scholars, in recent years, have rejected methodological nationalism in favour of transnationalism as a way in which migrants under conditions of globalisation deal with the experience of living simultaneously in both the sending and receiving society. Student migrants from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) find themselves welcome in Singapore, partly because of their perceived cultural compatibility with the predominant Chinese population and partly because their network connections and familiarity with their homeland are highly sought after by interests in a major player of the global economy. However, identity politics in such a significant group of migrants in the context of transnationalism do not necessarily result in the abandonment of an essentialised national identity. Instead, student migrant identity is reconfigured through the acceptance and representation of a national identity that takes a measured pride in being a Chinese national but incorporating elements of Singaporeaness such as meritocracy. The result is the essentialisation of national traits in response to the demands of transnational life. The account here does not suggest slipping back to methodological nationalism and making sense of social processes only within national boundaries. The way forward for examining particular groups of migrants who are well placed to take advantage of the demands of transnationalism is to produce accounts that are neither nation-bounded nor nation-blind. The political economy of transnationalism is sustained not by ethnic or cultural differences but by cultural constructions of national affiliation, which promote both similarities and differences.