A Nation on the Line argues that the offshore call center is a touchstone of the Philippine nation-state’s aspirations for greater status in the global economy and, more specifically, a reconfigured relationship with the United States. Entailing more than just a set of jobs related to mundane matters like printers and mobile phones, call centers have been framed as a way for industry leaders, state actors, and workers alike to affirm the Philippines’ readiness to compete in the neoliberal marketplace while challenging the economic and cultural hegemony of the United States.
— Jan Padios, A Nation on the Line: Call Centers as Postcolonial Predicaments in the Philippines, 2018
