| dc.description.abstract | This
study
explores
and
discusses
the
dynamics
of
identity
in
conflict
through
examining
Uyghur
collective
identity
in
the
specific
context
of
China
as
an
emerging
power.
Particular
attention
is
paid
to
how
this
identity
is
constructed
and
contested
by
different
actors
of
the
Xinjiang
Conflict.
The
Xinjiang
Conflict
is
a
multifaceted
conflict,
consisting
of
both
direct
and
structural
violence.
These
dynamics
of
identity
are
based
on
different understandings of what it means to be a Uyghur, which is in line with existing research on contemporary conflicts that considers identity as a driving force of violence. Through a text analysis, this study sets out to assess how Uyghur identity is constructed and contested in the context of the Xinjiang Conflict, by primary actors; the Chinese government, Uyghur diaspora and the local Uyghur population in Xinjiang. As the Uyghurs’ identity has been contested, and discontent is cultivated among the Uyghur community, the conflict between Uyghurs and the Chinese government (dominated by the majority ethnic group Han Chinese) has escalated since the mid 1990s. The findings advanced in this research conclude that Uyghur identity, in the context of conflict, is contested within different areas, such as language, culture, territory, religion and even time. This paper suggests that within these areas, identity is contested though the different processes of negotiation, resistance, boundary-making and emphasis on certain features of ones identity. | sv |
