This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Tan, Rebecca T E Title: Living as One United Peoples A Study of the Practices of Integration and Grassroots Volunteering in Singapore General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. 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Living as One United Peoples: A Study of the Practices of Integration and Grassroots Volunteering in Singapore Rebecca Grace Tan Tian En School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies University of Bristol A dissertation submitted to the University of Bristol in accordance with the requirements for award of the degree of PhD in Politics in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law October 2020 Word Count: 81,297 words i Abstract This dissertation explores how grassroots volunteers, known as Integration and Naturalisation Champions (INCs) aid in the integration of migrants into Singaporean society. Through using a combined approach of narrative interviews and participant observation techniques, the research finds that INCs occupy a liminal position between the state and their local communities. They work under the purview of and with funding from the Singapore government to implement state integration policy while simultaneously being embedded within their local community. This dissertation argues that INCs use their liminal position between state and society to promote migrant integration into the Singaporean nation by promoting integration into two smaller subnational units. Firstly, the volunteers welcome new citizens to the neighbourhood and introduce them to the often unspoken norms of community living in Singapore, which in turn strengthens new citizens’ sense of rootedness to their neighbourhood and bonds with their Singaporean neighbours. Secondly, as INCs educate newcomers about Singapore’s multiculturalism and embody the ethos of accepting difference in everyday interactions, new citizens feel that they are welcome in Singapore despite coming from different cultural backgrounds. This research thus provides two key contributions to existing research on migrant integration through its study on integration practices carried out by INCs. Firstly, it brings into focus meso-level actors, who are often neglected by scholarship that tends to focus either on macro, top-down policy approaches by the state or everyday micro practices of cross-cultural interaction, by arguing that these actors act as a vital bridge between state policy and everyday life. Second, it argues that promoting integration into smaller subnational collectives of neighbourhoods and ethnic groups, rather than threatening national cohesion, can lead to a greater sense of national belonging and integration. Key words: Integration; migration; nationalism; multiculturalism; volunteers; street-level bureaucracy; Singapore ii I declare that the work in this dissertation was carried out in accordance with the requirements of the University's Regulations and Code of Practice for Research Degree Programmes and that it has not been submitted for any other academic award. Except where indicated by specific reference in the text, the work is the candidate's own work. Work done in collaboration with, or with the assistance of, others, is indicated as such. Any views expressed in the dissertation are those of the author. SIGNED: DATE: iii Acknowledgements First and foremost, thank you to all the people who participated in this study. You were immensely generous with your time and open with sharing your experiences. I learnt a lot from you and have gained a new appreciation for all that you do for Singapore. Thank you to my supervisors, Professors Tariq Modood and Jon Fox. Your unwavering support, words of encouragement and constructive advice were invaluable in the completion of this project. Thank you especially for being so supportive of my efforts to balance my PhD and family life. I could not have asked for a better pair of supervisors who have helped me grow professionally and intellectually over the past four years. To David and Hannah, both of you are my sun and stars. David, I know that these four years have not been easy for you, especially when we were living apart. Thank you for your constant love and care, and for all that you do for our family. Hannah, you won’t be reading this for a while, but thank you for helping me crystallise my deadlines. Your arrival was the most effective motivation that I had to get a move on with the dissertation. Thank you both for cheering me up on long and frustratingly unproductive days, and reminding me that there is a lot more to life than the PhD. I love both of you. To the rest of my family both in relation through blood and marriage, I cannot thank you enough. Juggling the PhD and family life is an impossible task alone. I, and our family of three, would not have survived without your emotional and practical support, especially over the past year with Hannah’s arrival. Thank you especially to David’s and my parents for taking care of Hannah on weekdays so that I’ve been able to work on my dissertation. A special shout-out to Liz and Amy: love you both! Thank you for being there for me through all the ups and the downs of this journey. Friendships both sustained and begun over the course of these four years have played a huge role in getting me to where I am today. To my friends from SGX, debate, NUS and Bristol, I consider myself fortunate to have you as friends. Thank you for your words of advice, encouragement and prayers. Thank you especially for being patient when I was less than responsive, harried and anxious. A very special thanks goes to Rosie, Huiyi and Raymund for listening to my rants and nervous ramblings with great empathy and patience at various points of this academic journey. Last and certainly not least, to God be the glory. The best is yet to be. iv Table of Contents Abstract ii Author’s Declaration iii Acknowledgements iv List of Tables viii List of Figures ix List of Abbreviations x Chapter One: Introduction 1 The Puzzle of Grassroots Volunteers in the 3 Singaporean Integration Process 3 Tensions in Integration Efforts Thesis Overview 5 Chapter Two: Setting the Stage 7 Colonial Singapore as a Destination Country 7 Crafting a Unified Independent Nation-State 9 Contemporary Challenges to the Multicultural Nation 13 Adapting Naturalisation and Integration Processes 18 Chapter Summary: Contextualising the Project 21 Chapter Three: Integration – Between Multiculturalism and 23 Nationalism Nationalism: Integration through Emphasizing 25 Commonality Multiculturalism: Integration through Recognising 29 Difference The Complementarity of Nationalism and 31 Multiculturalism Chapter Summary: National Multiculturalism 34 v Chapter Four: Integration – Between the State and the 35 Everyday Using the Everyday to Understand Integration Policy 35 and Practice The Meso-Level as a Middle Ground 39 The Mediating Role of the Street-Level Bureaucrat 42 Community Volunteers and Policy Work 44 Integration and Naturalisation Champions as Meso- 46 Level Actors Chapter Summary: INCs Bridging State and Society 48 Chapter Five: Methodological Approaches 50 Studying Integration through the Eyes of INCs 50 Questions of Access, Recruitment and Sampling 52 Data Collection 59 Narrative Interviews 60 Participant Observation 62 Data Analysis 64 Reflections on being In and Out 67 Chapter Summary: Researching Integration Processes 69 Chapter Six: The In-betweenness of the INCs 70 Liminality and Ambivalence 70 Serving Two Masters: State and Society 72 Sympathising with Public Anxiety over Immigration 76 Defending State Immigration Policy 84 Chapter Summary: Caught Between Two Positions 92 Chapter Seven: Good Neighbours make Good Singaporeans 93 vi Issuing a State-Directed Welcome 95 Building Informal Relationships with Neighbours 102 The Limits of a Neighbourhood Conviviality 108 Migrant Volunteerism to Promote Integration 114 Chapter Summary: Local Integration to Facilitate 118 National Integration Chapter Eight: Unifying the Nation through Recognising 120 Cultural Difference Embodying Singapore’s Constituent Cultures 121 Modelling an Ethos of Multiculturalism 132 The Expanding Multicultural Experience 139 Chapter Summary: The Relationship between Ethnic 144 Diversity and National Solidarity Chapter Nine: Wrapping Up and Looking Ahead 146 Looking Back on the Argument 146 Contributions