ABSTRACT

Most work on political activities of Canada's Southeast Asian diaspora focuses mainly on civil society activism geared towards Southeast Asia. This work has enriched understanding of NGOs and social movements. By contrast, however, little attention has been paid to the Asian diasporic struggles for inclusion and reforms in Canada and their roles in transforming the political landscape in their countries of origin. This commentary places the latter in its focus by examining the problematics of “diaspora and civil society” from a historical perspective and as a context for understanding the relations between Canada and the Southeast Asian diaspora in both Canada and Southeast Asia. It suggests that while Southeast Asian diasporic communities – with support of Canadian public institutions and NGOs – have been strongly engaged in “long-distance nationalism” and had success at contributing to the transformation of politics in Southeast Asia, they have been relatively weak in transforming Canadian national politics.

摘要

大多数关于加拿大东南亚侨民政治活动的研究主要集中在针对东南亚的民间社会活动。这项工作丰富了对非政府组织和社会运动的理解。然而，相比之下，加拿大的亚裔侨民争取包容和改革的斗争以及他们在改变原籍国政治格局中的作用却很少受到关注。本文以后者为重点，从历史的角度审视“侨民与公民社会”的问题，并以此为背景来理解加拿大与东南亚侨民之间的关系。