Abstract:

In this article, I seek to examine the effect of Chinese liberal economic reforms on the nationalistic sentiment and actions of the Uyghur population, both in Xinjiang and in the rest of the world. The increasing level of openness that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has experienced since the reforms of Deng Xiaoping has dramatically changed the state and the institutions of power, and major political and economic investments in the Xinjiang region have rekindled grievances dating back decades, giving the struggle a new sense of urgency. In this climate of growing PRC hegemony over Xinjiang, Uyghur nationalists are gaining strength and traction, while their movement is also becoming one of international significance. As contact with the outside world becomes more prominent, influences from abroad are taking root amongst the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, and even Uyghur nationalism itself is transforming into a new entity. We seek to understand exactly how the Uyghur identity has been impacted by these external forces. This new, rapidly changing movement is considered by the PRC to be a threat to the continued stability of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), but in the long term, it appears that modern Uyghur nationalists, both domestic and abroad, are powerless to significantly change the status quo in the face of the PRC’s massive and growing economic and military clout in the region.