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Prifysgol Cymru Aberystwyth University of Wales Department of International Politics Diasporas in Multiculturalism: Managing Difference By Norman Vasu 20oy- Submitted in part fulfilment of the Degree of Ph.D. in International Relations Table of Contents Page Declaration and Statements V Abstract vi Acknowledgements Vii List of Abbreviations viii Chapter One: Introduction 1 1.1 Methodology 4 1.2 Justification for the Choice of Episodes 7 1.3 Structure 10 Endnotesfor Chapter One 16 Chapter Two: Introduction to the Subject Matter 17 - Multiculturalism and Diasporas in Context 2.1 Multiculturalism: A Review 18 2.2 Conceptualising Identity 30 2.3 Introducing Diasporas 49 2.4 Concluding Remarks 62 Endnotes for Chapter Two 64 Chapter Three: Theorising Diaspora 66 3.1 Analysingthe Bordersof Diaspora 68 3.2 Contemporary Theorising on Diasporas 76 3.3 An Alternative Characterisationof Diaspora: A New Addition to a 97 Crowded Constellation 11 3.4 Concluding remarks 105 Endnotesfor Chapter Three 108 Chapter Four: The Chinese Diaspora 110 4.1 RepresentingDiaspora: The OverseasChinese of the Novel 112 4.2 Contemporary Conceptualisationsof the ChineseOverseas 120 4.3 Understandingthe Chinese Diaspora - from Diaspora to Diasporic 140 4.4 Concluding Remarks 148 Endnotes for Chapter Four 154 Chapter Five: The African Diaspora 155 5.1 Origins and Extent of Dispersal 157 5.2 Whitewashing African Worth: The Stigmatisation of Africans 165 and Africa 5.3 Diasporic African identity: Negritude, Afrocentrism and 171 Double Consciousness 5.4 The Relationship between the Diasporic African Experience 184 and Home 5.5 Concluding Remarks 191 Endnotes for Chapter Five 201 Chapter Six: The Jewish Diaspora 203 6.1 Jewish Identity: Ethnicity, Judaism and a Condition 205 6.2 The Nature of Home: Zionism, Territorialism and the Bund 219 6.3 The Diasporic Jews and Multiculturalism 227 6.4 Concluding Remarks 250 Endnotes for Chapter Six 260 iii Chapter Seven: Conclusion 263 7.1 The Failings of Liberalism 1 and 2 265 7.2 The Wider Implications of the Thesis: The Future of Multiculturalism 272 7.3 Final Remarks 278 Bibliography 280 iv Declaration and Statements This work has not pre 1 usly been accepted in substance for any degree and is not being cone e submi ed in candidature forany degree. Statement 1 This thesis is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. Other sources are ackn edged by footnotesgiving explicit references. A bibliographY. is- p de . Statement2 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-libM l and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisa lion's.\ / Signed . ... .. .. .. .. ......................... (candidate) Date ...........2 .l .....o.J ..... 9.t: ............... V Abstract: Motivated by the desire to see a world living up to the ideal of harmonious multicultural communities, this thesis critically assesses two contemporary approachesto multiculturalism, namely Liberalism 1 and 2. The central argument forwarded here is that although Liberalism 1 and 2 are commendableapproaches to the managementof difference in a polity, they are unable to secure long-term inter- group harmony owing to the static understanding of identity that underpins both approaches. To highlight the shortcomings of Liberalism 1 and 2, this thesis examines the relationship between diasporas and more sessile communities. Diasporas have been specifically selected for this purpose for two reasons. Firstly, most comprehensive discussions on multiculturalism have not employed the experience of diasporas in their research.Secondly, as the number of diasporasare set to grow and as the term is traditionally used in a negative way in reference to a `difficult' minority, there is a need to examine approachestowards multiculturalism through diasporic eyes. Evaluation of the three diasporic experiencesof the Chinese, Africans and Jews in both Liberalism I and 2 has supported the main argument of the thesis. All three experiences have revealed that Liberalism 1 and 2 are unable to attain their long- term goals for multiculturalism due to three difficulties that stem from their static notion of identity. (1) Both positions foreclose the possibility for long-term harmony in a multicultural polity due to an overly pessimistic approachto the managementof difference. Due to this foreclosure, predictions of conflict unwittingly prove to be true. (2) Liberalism 1 is overly reliant on constant but unachievable enforcement with its difference-blind approachto the managementof difference. (3) The need for Liberalism 2 to compartmentalise individuals into distinct groups leads to the perpetuation of stereotypes while also denying individuals the opportunity to redefine themselves. vi Acknowledgements: Family: Maaah and Paaah Vasu, Vernon and France, Ah Yi and the Khees, Harald and Monika, Olli (the Boomboli), Sharon, Abdul Rahman and all the other Vasu/Vasoos,Tohs, Rentzows and Brändels. Institutions: University of Glasgow, London School of Economics, University of California (Los Angeles), Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (Singapore). Friends: Ben and Renee Wee, Victor and Pui Leng (the Lams), Fong and Chia (Moods/1819 or whaaaat?), Thaddeus Lawrence, Jon and Cathy Howe, David Smith, Natalie Williams, Medwyn Roberts, Bernard and Vivian Loo, Rebecca Shipman, Sinderpal (Turbanator) Singh, Gerry Hughes, Nick Dennis (keep it real my Negro) and Howard and Jennifer Williams. Respect: The Dongs, Asian Dub Foundation, Public Enemy, Ice Cube, Ice T, NWA, LMF, Machi, the city of Bangkok, The Pogues, Henry Rollins, Bob Marley, Theresa Teng, Da Lench Mob, Johnny Cash, Steve Earle, The Ramones, Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper, Elvis Hitler, Spearhead, Cypress Hill, Jimmy Buffet, Mayday and Command and Conquer (Tiberian Sun). Queen: Thanks Susanne! I say, I say, daaaaaaaaaaamn,those monkeys took their time. vii List of Abbreviations BLS Black Star Line EU EuropeanUnion IR International Relations JLC Joy Luck Club JTO Jewish Territorial Organisation NBA National Basketball Association OED Oxford English Dictionary SS Sour Sweet UK United Kingdom UNIA Universal Negro Improvement Association US United States WHF World Huaren Federation viii Chapter One: Introduction Chapter One: Introduction Migration appears to be an enduring aspect of human life. Throughout centuries people have been on the move and they have covered vast distances in doing so. There have been a plethora of reasonsfor what appearsto be a perpetual movement: communities have left their settlements due to unfavourable environmental change; conquering armies have acquired new territory and brought settlers in their wake; whole societies have been uprooted by expulsion or had to flee from their conquerors; the unemployed have moved in search of work; opportunists have gone in search of their own el Derado; and the curious and the adventurous have journeyed to satisfy their thirst. Nonetheless,what is significant about international migration is its alteration of the very composition of a state's population. The practise of migration has had a considerable impact on shaping political boundaries and as such on creating and reshaping states in terms of political, economic and cultural alterations. Prominent examples signifying the importance of migration for the development of stateshave been the creation of Canada, Singapore, Brazil and Australia. In fact, given the long history of migration, it could be argued that few states can maintain that migration has not had a hand in the evolution of their political and cultural landscape. As i Chapter One: Introduction Weiner (1985: 453) emphasises,migration has a deep impact on a state's political, economic and cultural composition as `it brings the outside in and involves sending a segmentof one's community to another'. Despite the fact that migration has been a constant feature of human life, people `on the move' appear to have persistently been considered dangerous and untrustworthy. Expression of negative attitudes towards migrants can be found in as early as ancient Greece where Homer characterised the so-called metrics or non- citizens as `clanless' and `hearthless' (Cohen and Vertovec, 2002: 5)1. Examples in modem history include the conditions of extreme nationalism or totalitarianism, such as the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy. In these cases,those who were understood as rootless or not of the land, for example, Jews and Gypsies were often the first to be sent off to the Gulags or the gas chambers. Contemporary expression of distrust for people that appear to be peripatetic is most obvious in discussions on the transnational capitalist class. Social commentator Christopher Lasch echoesthis view: In the borderless global economy, money has lost its links to nationality [... ]. The privileged classes in Los Angeles feel more kinship with their counterparts in Japan, Singapore, and Korea than with most of their countrymen. This detachmentfrom the state meansthey regard themselvesas `world citizens' without any of the normal obligations of national citizenship. They no longer pay their share of taxes or contribute to democratic life (Lasch, 1995: 46). Against the background of human movement and the accompanying experience of `lived difference', this thesis focuses on the theoretical and normative challengesof managingdifferences that accompanymigration. The centralargument 2 Chapter One: Introduction put forward in this research is the following. Although contemporary policies