(Co-)Producing liminality: Cambodia and Vietnam's ‘shared custody’ of the Vietnamese diaspora in Cambodia

Abstract

The paper explores the liminality of long-settled ethnic Vietnamese in Cambodia from the perspective of the triadic nexus between Cambodia, Vietnam, and the diaspora. Drawing on qualitative data, the paper argues that the predicament of the Vietnamese is co-produced by the two states, who both view them as an inconvenience and refrain from taking full responsibility for the group. Instead, Cambodia and Vietnam share the custody of the diaspora, alternating care and control through the work of the Association of Khmer-Vietnamese in the Kingdom of Cambodia (AKVKC). Such ‘shared custody’ allows the two states to grant some de facto rights to the Vietnamese while postponing their access to Cambodian citizenship. In addition to shedding new light on the case of the Vietnamese diaspora in Cambodia, the view of the diaspora as ‘inconvenience’ departs from mainstream understandings of diasporas as threats and/or resources. Furthermore, the concept of ‘shared custody’ adds to the literature on state-diaspora relations by drawing attention to the role of the host-state in (co-)shaping diaspora groups and engagement.