Political Participation and Ethnic Minorities: Chinese Overseas in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the United States

by Freedman,Amy L.

• ISBN13: 9780415924450
• ISBN10: 0415924456
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-06-01
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

From New York City's Chinatown to urban Indonesia, there are fifty-five million ethnic Chinese living outside of China. Their strong sense of community, along with their considerable economic clout, makes them a compelling group with which to study immigrant political participation. Amy Freedman's empirical study examines the hows and whys of Chinese overseas political activity in three diverse countries. When, and under what conditions, do immigrants become active in the political process? Does political influence stem from group mobilization? What role do communal organizations and their leaders play in determining participation? In answering these questions, Freedman assesses the goals and objectives of ethnic communities entering the political fray.

Table of Contents

List of Figures, Tables, and Maps	ix
Preface	xi
Acknowledgments	xiii
Abbreviations	xv
Introduction	1	(22)
The Puzzle	2	(1)
Terminology	3	(5)
Overview of Cases	8	(6)
Schools of Thought	14	(3)
Methodology	17	(2)
Conclusion	19	(2)
Implications	21	(1)
Plan	21	(2)
Theroretical Approaches to Understanding Political Participation and Influence	23	(26)
Preliminary Answers	23	(1)
Acculturation	23	(5)
Socioeconomic Status	28	(5)
Ethnic or Cultural Approaches	33	(4)
Institutionalist Theory	37	(6)
Case Studies	43	(4)
Empirically Speaking	47	(2)
Malaysia: Institutionalized Participation	49	(40)
Context	50	(1)
Current Situation	51	(2)
Background	53	(6)
Competing Frameworks	59	(4)
Institutions	63	(12)
Education	75	(10)
Analysis of Shifts in Community Influence	85	(2)
Conclusion	87	(2)
Suharto's Indonesia: Outsiders Tied to the Palace	89	(30)
Introduction and Recent Events	89	(1)
Economic Crisis and Political Change	90	(6)
Background and History	96	(1)
Chinese under Colonialism	97	(3)
Political Institutions in Post-World War II Indonesia	100	(3)
New Order Indonesia: 1966 to 1998	103	(9)
Sino-Indonesians	112	(4)
Conclusion	116	(3)
Chinese in the United States	119	(18)
Background	119	(1)
Chinese Exclusion	120	(2)
Post-1965 Changes	122	(1)
Strategies and Impediments to Political Participation	123	(2)
Demographics	125	(1)
Recent but Unwelcome Attention to Chinese-American Political Activity	126	(3)
Political Participation: Votes versus Contributions	129	(2)
Some Macro Answers	131	(2)
Strategic Questions and the Role of Elites	133	(1)
National Advocacy	134	(3)
Suburbanization: Chinese in Monterey Park, California	137	(20)
Introduction	137	(1)
Competing Approaches	138	(6)
Communal Associations	144	(1)
Los Angeles and Monterey Park	145	(4)
Coalition-Building	149	(3)
Networking	152	(3)
Refuting ``Guanxi'' Politics	155	(1)
Conclusion	156	(1)
New York: The City of Ethnic Politics	157	(26)
Introduction	157	(1)
Comparison of New York and Monterey Park	157	(2)
Chapter Overview	159	(1)
Background	159	(8)
``Model Minority Myth'' Revisited	167	(1)
New York City Political Institutions	168	(5)
Reapportionment of City Council Districts	173	(2)
Electoral Politics	175	(3)
Analysis	178	(2)
Provision of Social Benefits	180	(1)
Conclusion	181	(2)
Conclusion	183	(16)
Summary of Conclusions	183	(2)
Southeast Asia Reconsidered	185	(4)
The United States: ``Divergent Diasporas''--Monterey Park and New York City	189	(4)
The United States and Southeast Asia in Perspective	193	(1)
Implications	194	(3)
Answering the Puzzle	197	(2)
Notes	199	(10)
Bibliography	209	(14)
Index	223