Negotiating Citizenship: Migrant Women in Canada and the Global System

NEGOTIATING CITIZENSHIP is an important contribution to the theoretical and empirical literature on citizenship, globalization, migration, labour, identity politics, and intersectionality. The authors reconceptualize citizenship, not primarily as a legal or substantive entity but as a negotiated relationship. The book provides nuanced case studies on migrant women from the West Indies and Philippines, with a specific focus on two forms of care-giving labour in Canada, namely live-in domestic work and hospital-based nursing. As well as offering an analysis of racialized women largely ignored or under-theorized in citizenship studies, one of the strengths of the book is that it is based on primary research involving original survey data and interviews with stakeholders. The main argument is that whereas globalization expresses and exacerbates imperialist hierarchies, nation states are also major culprits in creating and perpetuating 'non-citizens' through ideological and institutionalized forms of sexism, patriarchy, Euro-centrism, Orientalism, racism, and class privilege. In the end, these concerns do not undermine the contributions and insights of the book (some of which are only briefly examined, e.g., the rise of men seeking work as live-in domestics). Three stand out. First is the idea of the non-citizen, whose status is legalized within the nation-state and beyond. The non-citizen is one who lacks basic citizenship rights including the choice of employer and domicile, access to social entitlements, freedom of mobility, and the ability to grieve workplace discrimination. Central to non-citizenship is gendered racialization and racism. second, Negotiating Citizenship challenges the popular idea that we are living in an era of transnational citizenship. While the authors emphasize the transnational character of migrants - who aim to maintain citizenship status from their home countries, preserve household structures across borders, are part of a transnational labour force, and share exploited occupational status across the globe (39) - they demonstrate that global citizenship is a reality primarily for those with wealth. Third, the book debunks the myth that Canada is a welcoming multicultural society. While it is relatively less abusive to foreign domestic workers than other countries, its policies institute a permanent threat of deportation, unchecked working conditions, and forced living circumstances. As the authors note, Canada participates in creati