Diffusion in transnational political spaces: Political activism of Philippine labor migrants in Hong Kong
The goal of Stefan Rother's PhD thesis is to enhance the concept of transnational social spaces by a political dimension. Studying the „bottom up“ consequences of transnationalization (Faist 2004) has brought migration research closer to the multiple ties which link migrants to their home country. But while there are numerous studies on family ties, media or economic linkages like remittances, the transnational political activism of migrants has been neglected so far in this context.
The thesis argues that there is a phenomenon of transnational political spaces which goes beyond the transnational activism of migrant NGOs. It is based on a case study on Philippine temporary labour migration to Hong Kong. Philippine migrants in Hong Kong – currently around 120 000 - form a very dense political space connecting/linking politics in their home with politics in their destination country . Over the course of 25 years , NGOs have been formed, trade unions have been set up, party chapters have been founded. Some of these institutions not only influence the politics of the Philippine government at home and abroad but also aim to substitute its shortcomings by „governance from below“.
To analyse the mutiple layers and characteristics of this transnational political space, the author has conducted 45 in-depth interviews with migrants, activists, government officials and academics during two field trips to both countries. Additional data is provided by a survey among 166 Philippine return migrants from Hong Kong from the research project „Democratization through Migration?“, which the author is part of.