Acts of Citizenship and Alternative Perspectives on Voice among Stateless Vietnamese Children in Cambodia Charlie Rumsby Statelessness Working Paper Series No. 2014/04 Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion December 2015 Author biography Charlie is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations, Coventry University. Her research looks into the everyday experiences and consequences of statelessness among Vietnamese children in Cambodia. Charlie has a BA in Social Anthropology and Development from London’s School of Oriental and African Studies and a MA in Development and Rights in the Anthropology Department, Goldsmiths College. Author email rumsbyc@coventry.ac.uk Key words statelessness – children – Christianity – voice – Acts of Citizenship – Cambodia Abstract The international response to statelessness has mostly focused on trying to find durable solutions for stateless populations. These solutions are characterised by attempts to provide the stateless with legal protection and an ability to have access to the same rights as citizens. Without citizenship, and membership of a (nation) state, the stateless are thought to lack meaningful political voice, but this paper argues that ‘acts of citizenship’ are not always dependent on citizenship as membership. The case study of Preah Thnov village in Cambodia demonstrates how a Christian school became a site where children with undetermined nationality were able to enact themselves as citizens.

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