Immigration and identity negotiation of local Singaporeans.

Abstract

The literature on immigration is vast and several aspects of immigration have been studied. An important aspect of study focuses on the impact of immigration on identity. However much of the existing literature focuses on the identity changes of immigrants and there appears to be a lack of research focusing on the impact of immigration on the local population. Therefore this paper focuses on the identity negotiation of Singaporeans. It also aims to compare and contrast the responses of Singapore-born Indians and Chinese to the influx of immigrants from India and China. Further by utilizing Giddens’ notion of ontological security and the concept of identity negotiation, this paper seeks to sociologically analyze the responses of the respondents and to consider the implications of any differences and/ or similarities in their responses.