Nationalism and state integration strategy - A case study of Uygur people in Xinjiang, China

Abstract

The 1990s has seen a growing ethno-nationalism in China. One of the most extreme cases is the Uyghura??s East Turkestan movement, which, after remaining silent in the whole decade of the 1970s, resurfaced from 1980, and became active since the 1990s. What accounts for this surge of ethno-nationalism, especially Uyghur activism?Viewing the state as a part of society, this paper attempts to explore the dynamics between state-building and ethno-nationalism in China. It argues that state-building, which intends to assure and expand its power, provides opportunity for ethno-nationalism to grow, and even more, for ethnic political movements to occur. By tracing the processes and dynamics as to how the shift in the state policy affects the cognitive framework of the minority people, provides sustainable resource to the movement, and offers space for social movement organizations to surface, this paper will then illustrate how state-building produces some unintended results.