Original
Multilevel Diaspora Governance: A Case Study of a New Qiaoxiang County in China
Abstract
Abstract Since China’s open-door policy and “going-out” strategy gained momentum in the 21st century, several new qiaoxiang 侨乡 (“hometowns” of overseas Chinese) have emerged. The launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013 has further increased Chinese transnational mobility and the interactions between overseas Chinese communities and their places of origin. This study takes Shaodong city in Hunan province as a case study to explain the driving forces behind the formation of a newly emerging qiaoxiang from political and socio-economic perspectives. It proposes that multilayered transnational network governance is a significant model for qiaoxiang in diaspora engagement. Using a rescaling approach, this study argues that diaspora governance relies not only on the primordial ties of locality, kinship and ethnicity that new emigrants maintain with their hometowns but is also dynamically shaped by pluralized qiaoxiang governmental networks at various levels, including provincial, municipal and county. These networks are constructed by the diaspora through both vertical and horizontal structures. Theoretically, this study transcends the traditional paradigm of centralized and singular diaspora governance at national or subnational levels, contributing to the understanding of the multilevel structures of diaspora governance from decentralized and pluralized perspectives.
中文
多层次侨务治理：中国一个新侨乡县的案例研究
摘要
摘要：自21世纪中国开放政策和“走出去”战略势头增强以来，若干新侨乡（海外华人的“家乡”）相继出现。2013年“一带一路”倡议的启动进一步增加了中国跨国流动以及海外华人社群与其原籍地之间的互动。本研究以湖南省邵东市为案例，从政治和社会经济视角解释一个新兴侨乡形成背后的驱动力。研究提出，多层次的跨国网络治理是侨乡参与侨民事务的一种重要模式。借助尺度重构路径，本研究认为，侨务治理不仅依赖新移民与其家乡之间保持的地方、亲缘和族群原生纽带，也受到省、市、县等不同层级多元侨乡政府网络的动态塑造。这些网络由侨民通过纵向和横向结构建构。在理论上，本研究超越了国家或次国家层面集中化、单一化侨务治理的传统范式，从去中心化和多元化的视角增进对侨务治理多层次结构的理解。
关键词
侨务治理、新侨乡、多层次治理、跨国网络、尺度重构、一带一路、邵东、海外华人