From Incubation to Mobilization: Filipino Diaspora Activism in a Nontraditional Country of Destination

• In Event: 463 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 08. Immigrant Activism

Abstract

Diasporas have played important roles in democratization in their homelands. But how does diaspora mobilization occur when the country of settlement has a small and isolated ethnic community, the host and homeland governments have weak relations, and the conflict is invisible in the geographies of power? Using process tracing in case study research, I analyze how solidarity groups in the Netherlands facilitated the emergence and growth of diaspora mobilization for democracy in the Philippines during the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. My findings show that movements can “incubate” other movements until they are organizationally ready, political opportunities have become available, and collective consciousness have developed. In cases where exiles and migrants lack pre-existing economic, political, and social ties in the host society, solidarity groups serve as migration bridges and movement incubators. They can affect the political opportunity structure in the host country, permitting the promotion of certain claims and demands in the public sphere. Furthermore, diaspora mobilization can develop within the formal organizations or associational networks of solidarity groups.

Author

• Sharon Quinsaat, University of Pittsburgh