Exercising Sovereignty.pdf (1.21 MB)
Exercising Sovereignty China's 'Core Interests' and Unfinished National Unification
This paper applies ideas on sovereignty as a contested and variable set of practices in international politics to the People’s Republic of China’s declaration of ‘core interests’ in Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang, with a particular focus on the Uyghurs of Xinjiang in the ‘post-9/11’ environment. While China’s claims to jurisdictional sovereignty in these areas are unrelenting, they continue to be contested in ways that have the potential to destabilize the Chinese state and the international relations of the region. ‘Core interests’ remain zones of unfinished or uncertain national integration and unification, requiring the regular demonstration and exercise of the state’s jurisdictional sovereignty, at times through political violence. In Xinjiang’s case the securitization of Uyghur separatism as part of the ‘global war on terrorism’ has intensified the state’s coercive exercise of sovereignty, increasing inter-communal violence between Han (Chinese) and ‘minority’ people and exacerbating serious problems of national unification.
History
Publication title
Proceedings of the Australian Political Studies Association 2012 ConferenceEditors
Richard Eccleston, Nicholas Sageman and Felicity GrayPagination
855-883Department/School
School of Social SciencesPublisher
APSAPlace of publication
Hobart, AustraliaEvent title
Australian Political Studies Association ConferenceEvent Venue
HobartDate of Event (Start Date)
2012-09-24Date of Event (End Date)
2012-09-26Rights statement
Copyright 2013 Australian Political Studies AssociationRepository Status
- Open