1. Diasporas in the Age of Globalization: Power, Identity
Transnationalism: Its Implications for Active Citizenship and Sense of Belonging in Canada
Presentation at:
Diasporas in the Age of Globalization: Power, Identity
and Internal Dynamics
Workshop
16th International Metropolis Conference,
Azores
September 14th, 2011
Lloyd L. Wong
Department of Sociology
University of Calgary

2. Conceptualizing Transnationalism
Transnationalism Perspective
Many immigrants are not “uprooted”.
Maintain multiple ties, links, and networks with their homelands.
Engage in social relations that link their societies of origin and settlement.
Transnationalism can be conceptualized as: 1) a mode of immigrant adaptation and 2) as social space that stretches beyond national borders.

3. Conceptualizing Citizenship
Table 1. Delanty’s Core Components of Citizenship (Delanty, G., 1997)
Type
Form
Formal
Substantive
Civic citizenship
Rights
Participation
Ethnic citizenship
Duties
Identity

4. Rights and Transnational Citizenship
Rights pertain to “citizenship-as-legal status”.
Economic and political factors influence what those rights are and how they evolve.
Rights can be highly controversial, contested, and problematic.
Briefly look at some recent examples of problematic areas that pertain to the rights.
Concentrate more on the normative aspects of citizenship - “citizenship-as-desirable-activity” and look at civic participation and belonging.

5. Examples of Perceived Problematic Transnational Citizenship
Evacuation of Lebanese Canadians from war torn Lebanon in 2006
- proposed tax for non-resident Canadians
- review of dual citizenship policy
Royal Bank of Canada – closing of U.S. dollar accounts of dual citizens who are non-residents.
Recently some discussion as to whether or not remittances, and other forms of flow of capital out of Canada, should be monitored or even perhaps and controlled.

6. Transnationalism & Active Citizenship
Public & Policy-Making Discourses and Assumptions
Transnationalism reinforces non-Canadian cultural beliefs, attitudes & behaviours of the “home” country.
Transnational practices “segregate”, “insulate”, “isolate” people from the Canadian “mainstream”.
Transnationalism is an obstacle or barrier to their active citizenship within Canada, to their sense of belonging to Canada, and their allegiance to Canada.
This is a test

7. Transnationalism & Active Citizenship
Public & Policy-Making Discourses and Assumptions
Continued
The greater the transnationalism the greater the ambivalence, divergence, and perhaps contrariety with Canada.
In other words, the greater the transnationalism the less the active citizenship and the less the sense of belonging to Canada.
This is a test

8. Research Question and Methodology
What is the relationship between transnationalism and active citizenship? And sense of belonging?
Methodology
Secondary data analysis of the Ethnic Diversity Survey developed by Statistics Canada and Canadian Heritage and administered in 2002.
Public use data file provided by Statistics Canada.
Approximately 40,000 cases.

9. How is transnationalism measured?
Two ways of empirically measuring transnationalism:
1) Transnationalism as a dichotomous variable.
-single citizenship and dual citizenship
2) Created a transnationalism scale using 3 variables:
i) citizenship status;
ii) family in country of birth; and
iii) trips back to country of birth
(Cronbach’s alpha = 0.82)

10. How are active citizenship and belonging measured?
Active citizenship is as measured as “civic participation” and “political participation”.
Civic participation - dichotomous variable in terms of membership in organizations and also as a scale.
Political participation as a scale (voting in federal, provincial and municipal elections).
Belonging is a scale measured from a weak to a strong sense of belonging to Canada.
Sense of belonging may even be considered as a crude proxy for “loyalty” and “allegiance”.

11. Table 1: Frequency Distribution of Citizenship
Citizenship Status:
Frequency
Percent
Canadian Citizenship
35,531
85.2
Dual Citizenship
3,415
8.2
Missing
2,749
6.6
Total
41,695
100.0

12. Table 2: Civic Participation and Transnationalism1
(Membership in:)
Non-Transnational
(Single Citizenship)
Transnational
(Dual Citizenship)2
Any Civic Group
χ 2 =0.02, p>.10
Not significant
Yes = 53.9
No = 46.1
Yes = 46.2
No = 53.8
Sports Club or Team
χ 2 =27.82, p<.001
φ = 0.027
Yes = 21.3
No = 78.7
Yes = 17.2
No = 82.8
Community Organization
χ 2 =5.69, p<.05
φ = 0.012
Yes = 7.3
No = 92.7
Yes = 6.1
No = 93.9
Religious Group
χ 2 =53.06, p<.001
φ = 0.037
Yes = 6.0
No = 94.0
Yes = 9.5
No = 90.5
Hobby Club
χ 2 =11.83, p<.01
φ = 0.017
Yes = 5.0
No = 95.0
Yes = 3.6
No = 96.4
Cultural Group
χ 2 = 14.62, p<.001
φ = 0.019

13. Table 2 (Continued): Civic Participation and Transnationalism1
(Membership in:)
Non-Transnational
(Single Citizenship)
Transnational
(Dual Citizenship)2
Charitable Organization
χ 2 =.064, p<.10
Not significant
Yes = 2.5
No = 97.5
Yes = 2.6
No = 97.4
Service Club
χ 2 =3.67, p<.10
Yes = 2.2
No = 97.8
Yes = 2.8
No = 97.2
Job Related Association
χ 2 =1.31, p<.10
Yes = 2.1
No = 97.9
Ethnic/Immigrant Association
χ 2 = p<.001
φ = 0.10
Yes = 1.6
No = 98.4
Yes = 6.7
No = 93.3
N=39,501 for all 10 of the above 2x2 crosstabulations.
1All ten crosstabulations bootstrapped and the statistical measures include chi-square (χ 2 ) to test statistical significance and the phi coefficient (φ) to measure the strength of the relationship.
2Includes Canadian citizenship along with one or more non-Canadian citizenship.

14. Table 2: Summary of Findings
Transnationals are, on some of the groups, lower than non-transnationals in their civic participation.
However, on many other groups, they are higher than non-transnationals or there is no difference.
Where the differences are statistically significant (chi-squared) they are often extremely weak and negligible (phi-coefficients).
Overall finding, is that for any civic group, there is no statistically significant difference in civic participation.

15. Table 3: Logistic Regression of Transnationalism and Civic Participation, Political Participation, Sense of Belonging to Canada, Importance of Ethnic Identity, and Experienced Ethnic/Racial Discrimination1 (Odds Ratios)
Independent Variable
Civic
Participation
Political
Sense of
Belonging to Canada
Importance of Ethnic
Identity
Experienced
Ethnic/Racial
Discrimination
Transnationalism
.997
.847***
.977
.955
1.661***
Gender
.909**
1.152**
1.173***
1.226***
.732***
Marital Status
.999
1.663***
1.056
1.052
.824**
Age
.998
1.049***
1.027***
1.022***
.981***
Income
1.018
1.043***
1.017
1.010
.983
Children
.965
1.005
1.080
1.282***
Completed School in Can.
1.500***
1.383**
.750***
1.142*
.485***
High School
1.049
1.463***
1.099
1.104
Some Post Sec
1.290***
1.635***
.943
1.023
1.718***
College
1.278***
1.762***
.846**
1.006
1.648***
Bachelor’s
1.866***
1.840***
.802**
.993
1.813***
Post-graduate
2.252***
1.637***
.714 ***
.907
1.831*** N
42476
1Bootstrapped
*=p>.05, ** = p>.01, *** = p>.001

16. Table 3: Summary of Findings
Transnationalism and:
Civic participation: no difference - n.s.
Political participation: 15% less likely – weak
Sense of belonging to Canada: no difference – n.s.

17. CONCLUSIONS
Overall, there is virtually no relationship between transnationalism and active citizenship.
When active citizenship is considered as political participation then there is a weak relationship – transnationals are 15% less likely to participate.
There is no relationship between transnationalism and a sense of belonging to Canada.
In discussions of transnationalism one should be cognizant of ethnic group differences.

18. CONCLUSIONS - continued
Overall, the concerns about the negative consequences of transnationalism on active citizenship and on a sense of belonging to Canada are largely exaggerated and overblown in public and policy-making discourse.
Transnationalism is not a major obstacle or barrier to people’s active citizenship within Canada nor to their sense of belonging to Canada, and consequently perhaps not to their allegiance or loyalty to Canada.