Abstract

This thesis is an anthropological study to investigate the complex processes of identity construction and contestation among the minority ethnic Chinese in Cambodia during the post Independence period. I call this group Sino-Cambodians. In myriad ways, the Sino-Cambodians have coped as "flexible citizens" (Ong 1999) in response to racist stereotypes, class antagonism, and the communist "fifth wheel" accusations imposed by various government regimes since Cambodia's independence in 1954. Castigated as "others". (i.e. by ethnic Khmers--the dominant ethnic group), envied for their economic wealth, and often branded with unsolicited political motivations, the Sino-Cambodian (Chinese-Cambodians) have nevertheless shown a remarkable ability to adapt, respond, and contest identities that have tended to marginalize them. In this thesis I reveal how the concept of Chinese identity is a racial construction by the ethnic Cambodia majority population, in particular the political elite, for purposes of political control. Moreover, I examine how multiple identities within the Chinese community, reflecting class, ethnic and political differences have contested this type of ethnic labelling, under each political regime and within the current context of globalization.