The London School of Economics and Political Science The influence of socio-political context on racial identity: strategic identity construction among Malaysians and Singaporeans Geetha Reddy A thesis submitted to the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science of the London School of Economics and Political Science for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, September 2017 For my grandparents, R Venkatasamy Reddiar & Seethalakshmi Reddiar, who lost their homes so that I could find mine. 2 DECLARATION I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science, is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 63,052 words, excluding acknowledgements, appendices and references. Statement of conjoint work I confirm that Chapter 2 was jointly co-authored with Dr. Ilka Gleibs and Dr. Caroline Howarth, Chapters 3 and 4 were jointly co-authored with Dr. Ilka Gleibs and Chapter 5 was jointly co-authored by Dr. Caroline Howarth. I contributed roughly 75% of the work in each of these chapters. This is made of the study design and operation, data analysis, article outline and authoring main, and final drafts of chapters. Co-authors provided key supervisory assistance, funding of transcriptions and editorial suggestions for the chapters. Statement of inclusion of previous work I can confirm that about 20% of the data presented in Chapter 2 was the result of previous study (for the award of MSc Social Psychology) I undertook at the University of Surrey, United Kingdom. This previous study functioned as a pilot study for the PhD. Geetha Reddy 3 ABSTRACT In the field of Social Psychology, race has been said to be socially constructed at the level of both individuals and groups. In this social psychological study, I examine how different socio-political contexts influence the construction of racial identities. Specifically, I argue that the concept of the socio-political context needs to be examined from different perspectives. In the three studies described here, I break socio-political context down to government policies, colonial history and politicised geographies using examples from Malaysia, and Singapore. In Study 1, I research how everyday engagements with government policies influence racial identity construction among multiracial Malaysians and Singaporeans. In Study 2, I explore how everyday engagements with colonial symbols influence contemporary racial identity construction among Malaysians and Singaporeans living in Malaysia, Singapore and the UK. In Study 3, I examine how changes in politicised geographies, as demarcated by three different multicultural countries Malaysia, Singapore and the UK, influence racial identity construction among Malaysians and Singaporeans. I posit that racial identities are strategically constructed according to the demands of the specific socio- political context that it is studied in. As a whole, this thesis shows that there are different aspects of racial identity construction at play at any given time and space, and the social psychologist can elucidate specific aspects depending on how they decide to conceptualise the socio-political context. This research has implications for understanding identity constructions in multicultural societies. More broadly the findings have relevance to social psychological understandings of contemporary multicultural societies that have individuals who traverse many spaces of home - both drawn by racial and national boundaries. As societies, and so, identities become increasingly complex in today’s world, I hope that such insights are important for the development of Social Psychology and social research in general. 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS An act of kindness conferred in the time of need, though be it small in itself, is in value, much larger than this world. Thiruvalluvar, Tamil poet and philosopher 300BCE The past four years have been life changing in many ways and I am eternally indebted to the people who have helped me on this incredible journey. It is only right that thanking them should come first. I count myself lucky to have had inspiring, dynamic and critical female social psychologists as supervisors in the four years of my PhD. I would not be here today without the trust that they have had in me, and the enthusiasm they have had in my project since the start. Thank you for guiding my thesis to its completion and I hope that I have done justice to your valued inputs to this project. To Dr. Ilka Gleibs, my first supervisor, who has shared life’s many ups and downs with me, vielen dank for always believing in my abilities, research ideas and knowledge and encouraging me to achieve more than I could have imagined myself. To Dr. Caroline Howarth, whose work met me and inspired me, even before I met you, thank you for always checking in and never letting me give up. I cannot thank the both of you enough for supporting me as I meandered in and out of my thoughts, during my fieldwork and in my life, even when your lives changed in so many ways. To Professor Cathy Campbell, thank you for your sharp, analytical insights and supervising me in the last stages of the PhD. Our in-depth conversations have been most useful in the writing process. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my examiners, Professor Sandra Jovchelovitch and Professor Orla Muldoon for their valuable feedback in the examination of this thesis. I sincerely appreciate your insightful comments and the thorough discussion we had of my PhD research project at the viva. 5 Thank you Terri-Ann Fairclough, Jacqueline Crane, and Daniel Linehan for your support in my time here at the department. Your kindness in helping me and other PhD students in the department is invaluable and you have always put a smile on my face. To Heather Dawson, your dependable assistance in getting me much needed texts and articles so quickly was very much appreciated, thank you. I would like to extend my gratitude to other members of staff, especially Professor Saadi Lahlou, Dr. Alex Gillespie, Dr. Tom Reader, Dr. Flora Cornish and Dr. Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington. Thank you for your guidance during PS950, and your openness to discussions that has helped me immensely in seeing this project to fruition. My life as a PhD candidate at LSE was made richer because of my brilliant peers and steadfast friends that I had the pleasure of making during my time here. Special mention to Rochelle, Jacqueline, Teresa, Cathy, Jane, Apurv, Liora, Sharon, Emily, Kevin, Mark, Megan, Jacob, Matt, Brett, José, Nihan, Cel, Akile and Morgan. Thank you for engaging in lively debates with me, sharing your projects and also your lives. The time spent with you will make it especially difficult to leave LSE after this. Sandra, Natalia, Maria-Cecilia and Amena, your advice on my project and our group discussions on everything from theory to salsa to food have kept me afloat all these years. I hope to be there for you as you have been for me, as you complete your own for the countless chats and sharing of dreams of a better ﺷﻜﺮا ﺷﻜﺮا ﺷﻜﺮا ,PhDs. Amena tomorrow. I owe a debt of gratitude to my participants who so generously shared their time, stories and knowledge with me. Without you, this thesis is nothing. I hope that I have stayed true to your experiences and that in doing so, given back to you in some small way compared to what you have given me. To dear friends that I have made along the way in our journey as psychologists, thank you. From navigating postgraduate studies, conferences, and summer schools together, you have made the process infinitely easier, and have 6 shown me the power of friendship in academia. Stephanie, Lay See, Ceren and Nelli, thank you for always being my cheerleaders. Nelli, for always being there for me, and especially for getting me through the last stages of this PhD. , Köszönöm pandi. To Nicole and Colin, for supporting me in my journey fromСпасибо across the Atlantic and driving me to think of applying my work to borders beyond those I study and study in. Yasin, thank you for revealing to me that academia is as fun as we make it to be and motivating me to always push forward, no matter how disheartened we may feel in this journey. Johanna, thank you for the long conversations over food where we could share our ideas about building a more inclusive psychology and keeping focused on the psychology of the everyday. Anne and Inge, you both have been truly inspirational. Anne, thank you for believing in me and my work, right from the MSc and for being someone I can always count on to support me in my intersectional feminist work. Inge, thank you for showing me a completely different perspective to life and adding more elephant joy and wisdom to it. To my family, both given and chosen, you have guided me in becoming the person who has managed to accomplish this particularly challenging undertaking. Thank you Thatha and Ammamma, your regular Skype calls kept me focused on the big picture as I was writing. To Amma, Appa, Shanti, Thilaga and Prem, whose unconditional love has seen me through many a life’s challenge and who have taught me to always look for the rainbow at the end of it.