Tactical Choices and Identity Claims in Filipino Diaspora Mobilization for Regime Change

• In Event: 1266 - Collective Behavior and Social Movements

Abstract

How does linkage between the homeland and hostland shape the strategic choices and public identity claims of diaspora activists in their struggle for homeland regime change? Comparing the mobilization of Filipinos in the U.S. and the Netherlands from 1972-1982 to overthrow the dictatorship of Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos, the study shows that linkage influences the arenas of contention, interactions among field of actors, and symbolic resources that, in turn, shape strategic decisions and identity claims. I argue that strong linkage between the U.S. and the Philippines provided migrants and exiles an accessible institutional target for their claims-making and broad network of allies, thus promoting the pursuit of foreign policy lobbying. Weak linkage (Netherlands-Philippines), however, involved a narrower set of players and thus drove activists to create opportunities for mobilization—often in the international public sphere. In both countries, activists’ framing of collective action oscillated between particularistic and universal as the web of relations contracted and/or expanded.

Author

• Sharon Quinsaat, Grinnell College