Constitution of Multiple Ethnicities as a Process of Capital Accumulation: The Ethnic Identity Construction of Oversea Vietnamese in Udon Thani Province of Thailand

It can be seen that ethnic identity is an important issue addressed in many migration and diaspora studies. Globalization has provided opportunities for flows of people across national borders and collapsed geographical boundaries between regions, states and nations. However, it does not mean that cultural differences are disappearing or that the whole world is being packed into one global culture. Remarkably, it has been discovered that ethnic identity is beneficial to members of diaspora communities when they confront difficulties when adapting and sustaining their lives in the countries of destination. It contrasts with a traditional idea that ethnicity is a factor which could lead to the marginalization of a group. Conversely, in these times under globalization impacts, ethnicity could bring economic and socio-cultural advantages for an ethnic group. Especially, living in-between two or more cultures raises a necessary demand for diaspora groups managing multiple identities which is a highly complicated process involving negotiations at different levels of individuals, groups, communities, institutions and even nations. Therefore, it suggests an increasing need to reconsider how diaspora groups construct or reconstruct their identities under the new context. This paper proposes an attention on the process that Vietnamese diaspora living in Udon Thani Province, Thailand construct their multiple identities and in what ways their fluid ethnicities enhance their accumulation of capitals which help them better integrate into Thai society and sustain their livelihoods as well as connections with Vietnam - their country of origin