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Shaping Identities, Shaping States: Transnational Habitus and Strategic Statecraft in Hong Kong and Singapore

Verhagen, Bram LU (2025) SIMZ11 20251
Graduate School
Abstract
This thesis examines how state strategies and transnational lifestyles co-produce identities in Hong Kong and Singapore. Both global city-states share colonial legacies, open economies, and roles as regional hubs, yet differ in nation-building trajectories and governance structures. Drawing on Bourdieu’s habitus and field theory and Jessop’s strategic-relational approach, the study conceptualises identity as shaped by the interplay between individual dispositions and strategically selective state frameworks.

An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design integrates descriptive analysis of Asian Barometer Survey data with ten semi-structured interviews of young adult citizens with multi-sited life histories. Survey results reveal... (More)
This thesis examines how state strategies and transnational lifestyles co-produce identities in Hong Kong and Singapore. Both global city-states share colonial legacies, open economies, and roles as regional hubs, yet differ in nation-building trajectories and governance structures. Drawing on Bourdieu’s habitus and field theory and Jessop’s strategic-relational approach, the study conceptualises identity as shaped by the interplay between individual dispositions and strategically selective state frameworks.

An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design integrates descriptive analysis of Asian Barometer Survey data with ten semi-structured interviews of young adult citizens with multi-sited life histories. Survey results reveal contrasts in national pride, migration orientations, and civic participation, reflecting differing alignments between habitus and state fields. Interviews highlight pragmatic citizenship, mobility as a hedge against uncertainty, and selective cultural attachments, alongside the constraining and enabling effects of state-led identity projects.

Findings suggest that both states cultivate forms of belonging that accommodate global mobility while reinforcing specific governance agendas. The study contributes to debates on postcolonial identity, state formation, and transnationalism, showing how identity formation is negotiated within overlapping local, national, and global fields. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Verhagen, Bram LU
supervisor
organization
course
SIMZ11 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
transnationalism, identity formation, state formation, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bourdieu, strategic-relational model, migration governance, global cities, postcolonial
language
English
id
9211860
date added to LUP
2025-09-19 13:39:29
date last changed
2025-09-19 13:39:29
@misc{9211860,
  abstract     = {{This thesis examines how state strategies and transnational lifestyles co-produce identities in Hong Kong and Singapore. Both global city-states share colonial legacies, open economies, and roles as regional hubs, yet differ in nation-building trajectories and governance structures. Drawing on Bourdieu’s habitus and field theory and Jessop’s strategic-relational approach, the study conceptualises identity as shaped by the interplay between individual dispositions and strategically selective state frameworks.

An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design integrates descriptive analysis of Asian Barometer Survey data with ten semi-structured interviews of young adult citizens with multi-sited life histories. Survey results reveal contrasts in national pride, migration orientations, and civic participation, reflecting differing alignments between habitus and state fields. Interviews highlight pragmatic citizenship, mobility as a hedge against uncertainty, and selective cultural attachments, alongside the constraining and enabling effects of state-led identity projects.

Findings suggest that both states cultivate forms of belonging that accommodate global mobility while reinforcing specific governance agendas. The study contributes to debates on postcolonial identity, state formation, and transnationalism, showing how identity formation is negotiated within overlapping local, national, and global fields.}},
  author       = {{Verhagen, Bram}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Shaping Identities, Shaping States: Transnational Habitus and Strategic Statecraft in Hong Kong and Singapore}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}