This thesis aims to answer the research question: what influences countries in their response to the alleged human rights abuse of the Uyghur ethnic minority in China? In order to answer this, the...Show moreThis thesis aims to answer the research question: what influences countries in their response to the alleged human rights abuse of the Uyghur ethnic minority in China? In order to answer this, the concept of human rights in international relations, as well as the three main theories of international relations are projected on two case studies of international reactions to China’s alleged human rights abuse of the Uyghur ethnic minority in the Xinjiang autonomous region: Turkey and the European Union.Show less
In China’s far northwestern region of Xinjiang, the Chinese government and the Muslim Uyghurs are entangled in a conflict that has seen a rise in violence in the last two decades. The pinnacle of...Show moreIn China’s far northwestern region of Xinjiang, the Chinese government and the Muslim Uyghurs are entangled in a conflict that has seen a rise in violence in the last two decades. The pinnacle of this violence were the Urumqi riots, a violent outburst between Uyghurs and Han Chinese during which 197 lost their lives. This thesis researches how the state controlled news agency Xinhua has covered the conflict before and after the Urumqi riots by analysing English language news articles on the conflict and analysing discrepancies by utilizing a ‘discourse analysis’. The results of the research show that Xinhua has taken a more delicate approach to referring to the Uyghur conflict but the underlying focus of ‘cracking down’ on expressions of resistance remain in news coverage on the conflict.Show less
The theory on (security) regionalism has shown that both the SCO and AU are considered to be part of ‘weak state IO’s’, which was proven through the variables put forward by Kelly. Both the SCO and...Show moreThe theory on (security) regionalism has shown that both the SCO and AU are considered to be part of ‘weak state IO’s’, which was proven through the variables put forward by Kelly. Both the SCO and AU strengthen sovereignty by turning the security dilemma inwards, so as to handle the issue themselves, with varying degrees of success. However, the AU is susceptible to intervention from above or from one of its members, if the situation is deemed sufficiently worrying and ‘grave circumstances’ have been observed. The relationships between the individual states and their regional organisations are significantly different, due to their own power projection capabilities. China’s power projection capability is the second largest in the world and will continue to improve, as military spending will increase. Meanwhile, Nigeria’s socio-economic and governance issues have been obstacles in acquiring sufficient growth and thus projecting power. This was also shown in the case study and the government’s approach to handling the issue, eventually leading to the formation of the MNJTF together with its mandate to defeat Boko Haram. By imposing hard-hitting measures on the region, China is able to keep terrorist attacks inside the country to a minimum, while allowing law enforcement agencies to catch-up with the terrorists. This is exactly how the CT theory was explained in theory and thus proves its efficacy in action. The African Union’s military approach has emerged through the lack of control Nigeria’s government has over its territory and lack of effective law enforcement measures. As Boko Haram spread across borders, a multinational task force was established to combat the group. It shows that the framework to combat terrorism established by the SCO RATS has a more effective approach. However, due to the nature of these autocratic regimes and the tendency of elites in these regimes to use the regional security organisations for the purpose of promoting their “collective internal security”, the chance remains high for abuses of power, suppression of minorities and human rights abuses. This is what the thesis found for the situation in China; with the contested designation of ETIM as a terrorist organization, and ‘loose’ framework in SCO RATS to designate all unwanted ‘activities’ as terrorism. Although it has proven significantly effective, the provisions in the SCO RATS are at times vague such as ‘preventive measures’, which could be used to manipulate or even infringe upon basic human rights. Therefore, this paper would recommend to implement a regional oversight committee, including neutral UN observers which would provide checks and balances on the military (hard) and law enforcement (soft) measures. This seems highly unlikely, China’s capabilities have proven to be effective in getting international recognition but handling the issue discreetly by itself. Therefore, for China or other SCO members to ask for outsiders to join contradicts the essence of what the SCO is in the eyes of China, a way to gain international legitimacy and recognition, but also a way to keep external influence out of the region and letting them handle the problem by their own.Show less
The spatial and temporal scale and complexity of the ancient Silk Road has been transformed into a brand that supports a range of development and modernization projects taking pace across Eurasia....Show moreThe spatial and temporal scale and complexity of the ancient Silk Road has been transformed into a brand that supports a range of development and modernization projects taking pace across Eurasia. Many nation-states are tapping into their Silk Road past for the purposes of modernization, development, and creation of national identities. This process is critically explored examining the “authorized heritage discourse” of the Silk Road – those parts that are highlighted in particular, and dominate over others, according to top-down principles of “value” and “knowledge”. The alleged benefits of the authorized Silk Road discourse are contrasted through an examination of the lands that they purport to represent. Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) is an area where urban sites have been transformed according to the top-down values of the authorized Silk Road discourse. However, it is argued that many of the local residents of these cities do not find benefit in these transformations, and instead reveal some of the core issues of the contemporary usage of the Silk Road. Two of these issues are highlighted in particular: gentrification and spatial cleansing. These have affected entire communities, which are assimilated into the Chinese nation through changing modes of identity formation. Meanwhile, cities are given of a false veneer of benefit that masks the new processes of exploitation that are taking place.Show less
In this thesis, I analysed and interpreted 9 articles of the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the CCP, that most immediately followed the 5 July Urumqi events in 2009. When analysing, I...Show moreIn this thesis, I analysed and interpreted 9 articles of the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the CCP, that most immediately followed the 5 July Urumqi events in 2009. When analysing, I focused on how the authors of the newspaper frame the Uyghur ethnic group. I expected that this newspaper would frame this ethnic group in a negative way and that the riots would be described as terroristic and a danger to the unity of the PRC. However, Most of my expectations of the analysis turned out to be untrue. The People’s Daily did not frame the Uyghur ethnic group in a negative way, as it did not even mention the existence of this group. It did frame the organizers, planners, and ‘bandits’ of these events in a negative way, but the articles never relate them to the Uyghur ethnic group. Also, the articles never related the events to terrorism directly. While they stated that the events threatened the unity of the Chinese multi-ethnic nation, the term terrorism was only indirectly linked with the 5 July events. This denial of the existence of a Uyghur collective identity can be interpreted as a matter of power, as the Uyghur separatists can not take part in the discourse created by these articles without being associated with the malicious forces from abroad. However, the articles frame the Uyghur ethnic group indirectly within the nationalist discourse of ethnic unity. I argue that the articles of the People’s Daily, by repeating the importance of maintaining ethnic unity and opposing ethnic discrimination, reflect the CCP policy of ronghe. Ronghe means the assimilation of the minorities to the majority, the Han. By not blaming the Uyghur ethnic group, but some far away vague forces and organizations, the CCP tries to maintain the Chinese multi-ethnic nation, including the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.Show less
This thesis explains the state of the modern music (not unmodified traditional music) of China's Tibetan and Uyghur minorities, and how globalization had made possible the influence by the West,...Show moreThis thesis explains the state of the modern music (not unmodified traditional music) of China's Tibetan and Uyghur minorities, and how globalization had made possible the influence by the West, China, and other regions on the musical styles and situations of the local music industries.Show less
