Abstract
Based on ethnographic fieldwork among migrant worker NGOs conducted between 2011 and 2016, this article employs critical theories of citizenship to illustrate how migrant worker NGOs use a strategy of ‘resistance through accommodation’ to re-shape the citizenship regime and discourse in China. The dominant literature on labour activism tends to discount the potential for migrant worker NGOs to undertake resistance, on account of their dependency upon the state and the market. The article contends that while NGOs must engage in relations with the state and the market to ensure their own survival, their activism does not ultimately centre on either resisting or accommodating these actors directly, but rather upon a broader engagement process aimed at the strategic purpose of ‘citizenship transformation’.
Highlights
China’s economic growth has long been predicated upon the availability of an controlled, disposable and docile labour force of migrant workers
The dominant literature on labour activism tends to discount the potential for migrant worker non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to undertake resistance, on account of their dependency upon the state and the market
The article contends that while NGOs must engage in relations with the state and the market to ensure their own survival, their activism does not centre on either resisting or accommodating these actors directly, but rather upon a broader engagement process aimed at the strategic purpose of ‘citizenship transformation’
Summary
China’s economic growth has long been predicated upon the availability of an controlled, disposable and docile labour force of migrant workers This has been facilitated by the legal, material and social inequality between rural-to-urban migrants and urban hukou holders. In the past decade or so, an increasing number of migrant workers have sought to resist mistreatment in workplaces by suing their employers or launching strikes. While these forms of civic activism have gained prominence in the literature, the forms of activism which go beyond labour claims, and which are undertaken by grassroots, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) set up by migrant workers remain under-studied. It is commonly understood that the potential for these organisations to undertake resistance or bring about political change is severely limited, due to their low capacity and dependence on both the state and the market. In particular, the state-corporatist and neo-Gramscian approaches to civil society deployed in the studies of migrant worker NGOs tend to question their capability to introduce broader political change
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
