Others in China: Governing and Assimilation with Chinese Characteristics

This book presents a comprehensive analysis of governance and ethno-nationality policies in China, with a particular emphasis on the historical strategies employed by the Chinese state in managing its relations with non-Han nationalities and ethno-religious groups. This book presents a comprehensive analysis of governance and ethno-nationality policies in China, with a particular emphasis on the historical strategies employed by the Chinese state in managing its relations with non-Han nationalities and ethno-religious groups. The study employs an interdisciplinary approach to examine the state's cultural and political integration efforts, or, more precisely, its expansionist ambitions. This is achieved by analysing the manner in which the Chinese state, conceptualised as comprising two interrelated dimensions – cultural China and political China – extends its influence both within its official borders and in the territories under its control. In this context, the book presents a critical analysis of the state's assimilationist practices, which are designed to transform a diverse socio-cultural and ethno-national landscape into a cohesive and unified socio-cultural framework. These policies are characterised by a synthesis of traditional Chinese cultural ideologies with contemporary Marxist and nationalist doctrines, a strategy aptly described by the author as "assimilation with Chinese characteristics". The analytical framework allows for an examination of the implementation of governance and assimilation strategies towards non-Chinese minority groups, with the Uyghur case serving as a focal example to illustrate these dynamics.