Violence, Discourse, and Politics in China’s Uyghur Region : The Terroristization of Xinjiang

This book investigates how Uyghur-related violent conflict and Uyghur ethnic minority identity, religion, and the Xinjiang region, more broadly, became constituted as a ‘terrorism’ problem for the Chinese state. Building on securitization theory, Critical Terrorism Studies (CTS), and the scholarly definitional debate on terrorism, it develops the concept of terroristization as a critical analytical framework for the study of historical processes of threat construction. Investigating the violent events reported in Xinjiang since the early 1980s, the evolving discursive patterns used by the Chinese state to make sense of violent incidents, and the crackdown policies that the official terrorism discourse has legitimized, the book demonstrates how the securitization, and later terroristization, of Xinjiang and the Uyghurs, is the result of a discursive and political choice of the Chinese state. The author reveals the contingent and unstable nature of such construction, and how it problematizes the inevitability of the rationale behind China’s ‘war on terror’, that has prescribed a brutal crackdown as the most viable approach to governing the tensions that have historically characterized China’s rule over the Turkic Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of the politics of contemporary China, security and ethnic minority issues, International Relations and Security, as well as those adopting discursive approaches to the study of security, notably those within the critical security and terrorism studies fields. This book investigates how Uyghur-related violent conflict and Uyghur ethnic minority identity, religion, and the Xinjiang region, more broadly, became constituted as a â••terrorismâ•• problem for the Chinese state.Building on securitization theory, Critical Terrorism Studies (CTS), and the scholarly definitional debate on terrorism, it develops the concept of terroristization as a critical analytical framework for the study of historical processes of threat construction. Investigating the violent events reported in Xinjiang since the early 1980s, the evolving discursive patterns used by the Chinese state to make sense of violent incidents, and the crackdown policies that the official terrorism discourse has legitimized, the book demonstrates how the securitization, and later terroristization, of Xinjiang and the Uyghurs, is the result of a discursive and political choice of the Chinese state. The author reveals the contingent and unstable nature of such construction, and how it problematizes the inevitability of the rationale behind Chinaâ••s â••war on terrorâ••, that has prescribed a brutal crackdown as the most viable approach to governing the tensions that have historically characterized Chinaâ••s rule over the Turkic Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.This book will be of interest to scholars and students of the politics of contemporary China, security and ethnic minority issues, International Relations and Security, as well as those adopting discursive approaches to the study of security, notably those within the critical security and terrorism studies fields. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series Information 3 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 6 Table of Contents 8 Figures 11 Tables 12 Acknowledgements 13 Abbreviations and Acronyms 15 Note on Transliteration 17 Introduction 18 Situating the Discursive Construction of Terrorism 19 Questioning the Chinese Official Narrative 21 Central Contributions 24 Outline of Chapters 25 Notes 28 1 From Securitization to ‘Terroristization’ 29 Adjusting Securitization Theory for the Study of Terrorism in China 30 Key Tenets of Securitization Theory 30 From Securitization to Terroristization 32 Moving Terroristization Beyond Democracies 33 Discourse and Materiality: Terroristization’s Minimal Foundationalism 36 ‘Terrorism’ Definitions as Mapping Device 39 Understanding Terrorism Definitions as Discursive Anchors 40 Terrorism Is Premeditated Violence 43 Terrorism Is Violence Against Civilians 45 Terrorism Is Indiscriminate and Unexpected Violence 46 Terrorism Is Symbolic Violence That Communicates Fear to Coerce 48 Terrorism Is Political (Violence) 49 A Matrix for Interpreting Violent Events as Terrorism 51 Conclusion 54 Note 56 2 Securitizing Xinjiang: The Years of ‘Counterrevolution’ (1978–1990) 57 Mapping Violence in Xinjiang in the Early ‘Reform and Opening Up’ Period 58 Payzawat 1981 59 Kashgar 1981 60 Student Protests 1985 61 Ürümchi 1989 62 Baren 1990 63 The Spectrum of Violence During the ‘Reform and Opening Up’ Era 65 Talking ‘Counterrevolution’: From Restraint to Securitization 67 ‘Neither Serious Nor Surprising’: The Riots Discourse During the Early 1980s 68 ‘Counterrevolution’ and ‘Splittism’: The Discursive Shift On Riots in the Late 1980s 70 The Baren ‘Counterrevolutionary Rebellion’ 73 The Politics of ‘Counterrevolution’ in Xinjiang 77 Gradualism: A Moderate Response to Violent Unrest 77 Abandoning Gradualism, Singling Out Xinjiang for Crackdown 81 Conclusion 84 3 The Proto-Terroristization of Xinjiang: ‘Striking Hard’ Against the ‘Three Forces’ (1991–2001) 86 Mapping Violence During the Proto-Terroristization Phase 87 Key Episodes of Violence in Xinjiang and Beyond 87 Attacks in Public Spaces 87 Assassinations 88 Attacks Against Security Forces 89 Escalation of Non-Violent Conflict 89 State Security Operations 91 The Broad Spectrum of Violence During the 1990s 92 New Language, Old Arguments: The Emergence of ‘Terrorism’ in the Framing of Violence in Xinjiang 95 Constructing the Threat 96 Prescribing a Long and Merciless Fight 98 Change of Language: From Counter-Revolution to Terrorism 100 The Terroristization of the Ghulja Riot 101 Internationalizing the Threat 104 The Politics of ‘Striking Hard’ 106 A Legal-Executive Security Apparatus to Fight Separatism 107 Implementing Document No. 7 110 The ‘Strike Hard’ Campaigns: A Terroristization Device 114 Exporting the Proto-Terroristization of Xinjiang 115 Conclusion 118 4 The Terroristization of Xinjiang (2001–2020): Waging a People’s War On Terror 120 Terroristization in the Absence of Violence 121 Seizing the Chance: The Recasting of Violence in Xinjiang as Terrorism After 9/11 121 The Spectrum of Violence in 21st-Century Xinjiang 124 Key Episodes of Violence in the Terroristization Phase 125 Attacks Against Security Forces 125 Escalation of Non-Violent Conflict 126 Attacks in Public Spaces 127 Assassinations 128 State Security Operations 128 Mapping the Features of Violence During the Years of Terroristization 129 Terroristizing Violence, Prescribing a ‘People’s War’ 134 Materializing the Threat: The Terroristization of All Violence in Xinjiang 134 Prescribing a ‘People’s War’ Against Terrorism and ‘Religious Extremism’ 140 China’s War On Terror in Xinjiang: Sustained Crackdown and the Advent of the Surveillance State 144 Establishing and Implementing a Counter-Terrorist Apparatus 144 Sustained Crackdown in the Name of Fighting Terrorism 149 Chasing and Hunting ‘Terrorists’ Abroad 158 Sine Die Terroristization: Surveillance State and ‘De-Extremification’ Camps 161 Conclusion 167 Conclusion 169 The Concept of Terroristization 171 Violence, Discourse, and Politics in the Uyghur Region 172 Broader Lessons From the Terroristization of Xinjiang 176 Implications for Future Research 177 From Terroristization to Assimilation 179 Appendix: List of Violent Events 181 Bibliography 193 Index 259 China;,Xinjiang;,Uyghur;,ethnic,minority;,Critical,Terrorism,Studies;,CTS;,securitization;,Turkic,Muslim;,Terrorism;,Terroristization;,Counter-terrorism "This book investigates how Uyghur-related violent conflict and Uyghur ethnic minority identity, religion, and the Xinjiang region more broadly, became constituted as a 'terrorism' problem for the Chinese state. Building on securitization theory, Critical Terrorism Studies (CTS), and the scholarly definitional debate on terrorism, it develops the concept of terroristization as a critical analytical framework for the study of historical processes of threat-construction. Investigating the violent events reported in Xinjiang since the early 1980s, the evolving discursive patterns used by the Chinese state to make sense of violent incidents, and the crackdown policies that the official terrorism discourse has legitimized, the book demonstrates how the securitization, and later terroristization, of Xinjiang and the Uyghurs, is the result of a discursive and political choice of the Chinese state. The author reveals the contingent and unstable nature of such construction, and how it problematizes the inevitability of the rationale behind China's 'war on terror', that has prescribed a brutal crackdown as the most viable approach to governing the tensions that have historically characterized China's rule over the Turkic Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of the politics of contemporary China, security and ethnic minority issues, International Relations and Security, as well as those adopting discursive approaches to the study of security, notably those within the critical security and terrorism studies fields"-- Provided by publisher