Migrants Make Good Citizens: The Case of Inconspicuous Migration in China

• In Event: Migration and Nationalism in Newer Countries of Immigration

Abstract

Conventional understandings of political consequences of transnational or internal migration have primarily focused on “conspicuous migrants” – those from disparate racial, ethnic, religious, and linguistic backgrounds compared to native citizens. These conspicuous migrants are often portrayed as politically inactive and marginalized due to their migratory status, which is thought to dampen their willingness and ability to engage in politics. It raises the question of whether the dynamics still holds true for domestic migrants within unitary states where a vast majority of citizens share a common language and national identity, termed “inconspicuous migrants”. Leveraging data from the China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS) and focusing on domestic inconspicuous migration, we examined the relationship between residential mobility and political participation with the data of more than 160,000 respondents. We find that increased mobility, measured by the relocation times, is associated with greater level of political and civic participation. The empirical results have challenged the findings of extant literature in this field, and can be explained from the perspective of state-citizen contact. Frequent relocation necessitates more interaction with state apparatuses and officials for administrative tasks such as residence permits and social security registration, thus promoting political socialization and engagement. To rule out the possibilities of alternative explanations, we also tested the impact of migrants’ need for social network building and their level of acculturation. This study provides new insights into inconspicuous migrants’ political participation – in a setting where racial and religious identities are not salient, highly mobile migrants tend to engage in politics more actively. It further corroborates the scholarly expectation that interactions with the state cultivate good citizens and foster political participation.

Authors

• Xiaojun Yan, University of Hong Kong

• Pengfei Xie, The University of Hong Kong

• Zhenyu Zhang, The University of Hong Kong