Revisiting Flexible Citizenship in 2020s: Flexible Collaboration and Transnational Elites in-between China and the U.S.

• In Event: 20862 - Section on International Migration Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 15: Citizenship and Transnationalism

Abstract

Building on and revising Aihwa Ong’s seminal notion of “flexible citizenship,” this paper explores how contemporary Chinese elite immigrants in the United States navigate and leverage state frameworks—rather than detaching from them—to achieve strategic, transnational accumulation of capital. Drawing on 25 in-depth interviews and extensive participant observation among Chinese business owners in California’s Bay Area, I demonstrate that these elites do not simply escape nation-state constraints; instead, they harness U.S. and Chinese policies, social networks, and geopolitical tensions to expand their wealth, knowledge, and influence in both contexts. Where Ong’s earlier account focused on elites distancing themselves from states to mitigate risks, my findings show that the latest cohort of Chinese transnational elites intentionally embeds itself in government agendas. By engaging in flexible collaboration—such as obtaining export licenses, leveraging tax incentives, or negotiating regulatory exemptions—these individuals position themselves as indispensable “bridges” connecting rival national interests. Rather than suffering from cultural or symbolic deficits in new environments, these elites convert their multifaceted social and cultural capital to sustain credibility and symbolic capital on both sides, acting as “flexible collaborators.” Those who fail to balance these conflicting demands risk becoming “inflexible loyalists,” effectively shut out from one or both nations’ opportunities. By revisiting flexible citizenship in the 2020s, this study advances sociological understandings of global elites, transnational capitalism, and state-elite interactions. It underscores that national affiliations are not merely obstacles to be circumvented but can become critical resources for transnational entrepreneurs seeking to multiply various forms of capital in today’s shifting geopolitical landscape.

Author

• Pengfei Liu, University of California-Davis