Between National Rootedness and Cosmopolitan Openness: Investigating the politics of belonging as an ‘overseas Filipino’ in Australia Charmaine Lim BSocSc (2011), BA (First Class Honours) (2014), Curtin University of Technology This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The University of Western Australia School of Social Sciences Discipline of Anthropology and Sociology 2019 Thesis Declaration I, Charmaine Lim, certify that: This thesis has been substantially accomplisheD during enrolment in the degree. This thesis Does not contain material which has been accepteD for the awarD of any other degree or diploma in my name, in any university or other tertiary institution. No part of this work will, in the future, be useD in a submission in my name, for any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution without the prior approval of The University of Western Australia and where applicable, any partner institution responsible for the joint-award of this degree. This thesis Does not contain any material previously publisheD or written by another person, except where due reference has been made in the text. The work(s) are not in any way a violation or infringement of any copyright, traDemark, patent, or other rights whatsoever of any person. The research involving human Data reporteD in this thesis was assesseD anD approveD by The University of Western Australia Human Research Ethics Committee. Approval #: RA/4/1/7184. ThirD party editorial assistance was provided in preparation of the thesis by Monica Chaplain of The Expert Editor. Technical assistance was kinDly proviDeD by Chris Mulherin of The Public Sentence who transcribeD audio from interview recordings. Parts of these transcripts can be founD in Chapters Four, Five anD Six of the thesis. This thesis Does not contain work that I have publisheD, nor work unDer review for publication. Signature: Date: 14th May 2019 ii Abstract Cosmopolitanism is generally unDerstooD as a concept that can be used to explain a particular mode of self-transformation that allows inDividuals to engage with difference and with the oneness of the world. Given the Philippines’ involvement in processes of neoliberal globalisation, Filipino migration scholars have begun to frame the ‘overseas Filipino’ experience using a cosmopolitan lens. In spite of cosmopolitanism’s growing popularity in the social sciences, scholars have criticised cosmopolitanism research for being Eurocentric, elitist, and for reinforcing a binary of difference through its rejection of ethnic separateness, and its national transcenDence. As a result, critics have questioneD the limits of cosmopolitanism as a basis for belonging, either arguing that ‘nations still matter’ or by criticising cosmopolitanism’s abstract, individualised nature. This thesis aims to make a theoretical anD empirical contribution to the cosmopolitanism debate by investigating the politics of belonging to collective domains of commonality based on ‘simultaneous rootedness and openness’ to allow people to see themselves as belonging to the worlD. It Does this by investigating three ‘overseas Filipino’ community organisations: Migrante WA (an activist organisation for Filipino labour migrants), GawaD Kalinga (a Diasporic philanthropic organisation) and Iglesia ni Cristo (a Filipino Christian church). The key questions that this research seeks to aDDress are: Can national rooteDness anD cosmopolitan openness coexist in the lived experiences of Filipino migrants, particularly at the level of community organisations? If so, how does this coexistence play out, and what are the possibilities anD limitations that arise from navigating this coexistence? In response to the critique of cosmopolitanism’s abstract, inDividualiseD nature, this thesis draws on Delanty’s (2006, 2009, 2012) argument that cosmopolitanism may be regarded as an inherently relational ontology between self, other and the world. Using this framework, this research finDs that ‘overseas Filipinos’ experience a problematic relationship between the self and the worlD. As a result of this problematic relationship, these community organisations play a crucial role in reimagining shareD domains of commonality, allowing ‘overseas Filipinos’ to transform the relationship between self, other and the world in a culturally meaningful way. The investigation also reveals the limitations of cosmopolitanism and thus recognises that, until cosmopolitan political projects can match the nation- state’s political power, there can be no ‘cosmopolitan reality’. Through these conclusions, this thesis illuminates a pluralistic view of cosmopolitanism that iii recognises the significance of rooteDness to belonging, through the lens of engagement with community organisations. iv Table of Contents THESIS DECLARATION .................................................................................... II ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................... VIII 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1 REFLECTIONS ON BELONGING ................................................................................ 1 BETWEEN NATIONAL ROOTEDNESS AND COSMOPOLITAN OPENNESS .................. 6 MIGRANTE WA: OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS (OFWS) ....................................... 6 GAWAD KALINGA: THE ‘FIL-WHATEVERS’ .............................................................. 9 IGLESIA NI CRISTO: THE RELIGIOUS ....................................................................... 10 THESIS AIM AND OVERVIEW .................................................................................. 10 2 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................. 15 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 15 GLOBALISATION AND FILIPINO MIGRATION ....................................................... 16 ‘A NEW NATIONALIST CONSTRUCT’ ........................................................................ 20 ‘OVERSEAS FILIPINOS’ IN AUSTRALIA ................................................................. 25 COSMOPOLITANISM ............................................................................................... 32 CATEGORIES OF ANALYSIS: IDENTITY AND BELONGING .................................... 38 A COSMOPOLITAN IDENTITY? ................................................................................. 38 BELONGING AND THE POLITICS OF BELONGING ...................................................... 40 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................... 48 3 METHODOLOGY AND METHODS ............................................................. 50 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 50 THICK DESCRIPTION, OR ‘PRACTICE OF THEORY’ .............................................. 52 GROUNDED THEORY .............................................................................................. 56 REFLEXIVITY AND THE INDIVIDUAL UNIT OF ANALYSIS ..................................... 57 MULTI-SITED ETHNOGRAPHY ............................................................................... 60 v CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................... 67 4 ‘NOBODY KNOWS WHAT A FILIPINO IS’ ................................................ 69 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 69 CROSSING BORDER REGIMES ................................................................................ 72 THE SELF AND THE OTHER .................................................................................... 78 UNIVERSAL PERSONHOOD OR CULTURAL IDENTITY? ......................................... 86 COSMOPOLITANISM AND CAPITAL ....................................................................... 96 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................ 101 5 THE OFWS ...................................................................................................... 103 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 103 'LONG LIVE INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY!' ..................................................... 107 THE PHILIPPINES AS A MICROCOSM OF GLOBAL ISSUES .................................. 111 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE NATIONAL AND THE GLOBAL ................... 119 PROLETARIAN MORAL ANXIETIES ...................................................................... 127 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................ 134 6 THE FIL-WHATEVERS ................................................................................ 136 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 136 TRANSFORMING DIASPORA ................................................................................. 141 A GLOBAL FAMILY ............................................................................................... 147 GK ENCHANTED FARM ......................................................................................