Securitization, surveillance and 'de-extremization' in Xinjiang

Kam, S; Clarke, M

Securitization, surveillance and 'de-extremization' in Xinjiang

Kam, S Clarke, M

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Publisher:: OXFORD UNIV PRESS
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, 2021, 97, (3), pp. 625-+
Issue Date:: 2021-05-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Kam, S
dc.contributor.author	Clarke, M https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1048-9586
dc.date.accessioned	2022-05-25T02:10:02Z
dc.date.available	2022-05-25T02:10:02Z
dc.date.issued	2021-05-01
dc.identifier.citation	INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, 2021, 97, (3), pp. 625-+
dc.identifier.issn	0020-5850
dc.identifier.issn	1468-2346
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/157680
dc.description.abstract	<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Previous explanations on China's counterterrorism strategy have highlighted the results of China's strategy of repression in Xinjiang, the historical antecedents and institutional foundations of its counterterrorism policies, as well as international and domestic sources of China's counterterrorism strategy. While acknowledging the importance of all these dimensions, this article draws attention to a largely neglected feature of China's counterterrorism strategy: the Chinese party-state's social engineering of Xinjiang. Building on Maoist-era practices such as the mass line and the ‘friend vs. enemy’ binary, the Communist party under Xi Jinping has integrated surveillance technologies as part of its strategy of preventive counterterrorism and ‘de-extremization’. This article argues that the Chinese party-state's embrace of modern technologies, a weak liberal tradition in China, Xi Jinping's rise to power in late 2012, and the appointment of Chen Quanguo as Xinjiang's party-secretary in 2016, provides the socio-political background for the intensification of securitization, surveillance and introduction of ‘re-education and training centres’ in Xinjiang. Surveillance technologies now complement collective, face-to-face methods of surveillance and Maoist-era techniques of mass mobilization, enabling the Chinese party-state to govern and manage the biopolitical spaces of Uyghurs with greater intensity, according to the state's precise norms. The legalization and institutionalization of ‘de-extremization’ has also led to the shift from mass ‘de-extremization’ propaganda to ‘drip-irrigation’ ideological and political re-education of individuals deemed at risk of extremism. The result is an increased capacity by the Chinese party-state to surveil and control the region, and to more effectively negate the possibility of individual resistance.</jats:p>
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	OXFORD UNIV PRESS
dc.relation.ispartof	INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1093/ia/iiab038
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
dc.subject	1605 Policy and Administration, 1606 Political Science
dc.subject.classification	International Relations
dc.title	Securitization, surveillance and 'de-extremization' in Xinjiang
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	97
utslib.for	1605 Policy and Administration
utslib.for	1606 Political Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (International)
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (International)/Australia-China Relations Institute
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access	*
dc.date.updated	2022-05-25T02:10:01Z
pubs.issue	3
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	97
utslib.citation.issue	3

Abstract:

Abstract Previous explanations on China's counterterrorism strategy have highlighted the results of China's strategy of repression in Xinjiang, the historical antecedents and institutional foundations of its counterterrorism policies, as well as international and domestic sources of China's counterterrorism strategy. While acknowledging the importance of all these dimensions, this article draws attention to a largely neglected feature of China's counterterrorism strategy: the Chinese party-state's social engineering of Xinjiang. Building on Maoist-era practices such as the mass line and the ‘friend vs. enemy’ binary, the Communist party under Xi Jinping has integrated surveillance technologies as part of its strategy of preventive counterterrorism and ‘de-extremization’. This article argues that the Chinese party-state's embrace of modern technologies, a weak liberal tradition in China, Xi Jinping's rise to power in late 2012, and the appointment of Chen Quanguo as Xinjiang's party-secretary in 2016, provides the socio-political background for the intensification of securitization, surveillance and introduction of ‘re-education and training centres’ in Xinjiang. Surveillance technologies now complement collective, face-to-face methods of surveillance and Maoist-era techniques of mass mobilization, enabling the Chinese party-state to govern and manage the biopolitical spaces of Uyghurs with greater intensity, according to the state's precise norms. The legalization and institutionalization of ‘de-extremization’ has also led to the shift from mass ‘de-extremization’ propaganda to ‘drip-irrigation’ ideological and political re-education of individuals deemed at risk of extremism. The result is an increased capacity by the Chinese party-state to surveil and control the region, and to more effectively negate the possibility of individual resistance.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/157680