Doctoral Dissertation Research: Legal Practice and the Production of Licit Subjects in Thailand

University Of Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

University of Chicago doctoral student, Malavika Reddy, with the guidance of Dr. John D. Kelly, will investigate situations where people who otherwise have little to no legal standing in a country, are nevertheless able to make claims on labor laws in that country's courts. The research will examine the central contradiction of such cases under study, which is that they adjudicate claimants' rights under labor law without adjudicating the legality of claimants' presence. Reddy hypothesizes that the legal process forges a simultaneously illegal yet legitimate standing, for which she proposes the term, "licit belonging." The research will be conducted in Thailand where the researcher will focus on the legal claims made by Burmese migrant workers. Reddy will use a variety of ethnographic methods, including participant observation, interviews, and focus groups, as well as discourse analysis to observe whether, and how, a licit identity for alien workers is formed within the Thai legal system. Detailed field notes and transcripts will be analyzed by focusing on particular moments of discourse when actors debate what comprises authoritative legal practice. This will make it possible to connect discussions that are seemingly internal to the workings of the law with the broader phenomena of an emergent form of licit belonging within the Thai nation-state. By investigating how foreign workers are able to mobilize the law on their own behalf, the study will analyze how legal systems influence and are influenced by the cross-border movements of people and capital that have come to be the hallmarks of global capitalism. The research will thus contribute significantly to both social science theory of globalization and economics, and to knowledge that can inform an improved public policy. Funding this research also supports the education of a social scientist.