The Chinese war on Uyghur terrorism is often condemned for its human rights abuses, however, this ignores the Chinese view on the issue. The conflict between the Uyghurs and the Chinese reaches far...Show moreThe Chinese war on Uyghur terrorism is often condemned for its human rights abuses, however, this ignores the Chinese view on the issue. The conflict between the Uyghurs and the Chinese reaches far into the shared history, but it has accelerated after the events of 9/11 which created a new discourse on terrorism in China. This study aims to create a better understanding of the conflict by researching the conflict as objectively as possible. The question that will guide this thesis is: To what extent does the Chinese definition of terrorism and the perceived threat of the Uyghurs align with the counterterror measures taken in comparison to counterterror measures employed by a number of Western nations? To answer the question, the Chinese definition of terrorism has been compared to an academic definition, along with a research on the Uyghur threat, and an analysis of the counterterror measures of China in comparison to the Netherlands and France. While the Chinese definitions is too broad, Uyghur terrorist organizations do form a threat, and the Chinese counterterror measures are not too different from France due to the securitization process, both countries have gone through. The thesis concludes that counterterror measures are valid in the light of the perceived threat due to the issue being securitized.Show less
