Identity, securitization, violence

Between matter and language: International Relations, ghosts, and the politics of différance‘.

Among many reasons because of their unique geographical position, China places these autonomous
regions at the core of its national interests as it concerns not only China’s sovereqignty and its territorial
integrity but also attaches geo-strategic importance of these regions for China’s future development.

 The contribution of the thesis lies within debates on the historical origins of modern international
relations which often overlook the history of borders through a focus on sovereignty

The central argument of the thesis is that survey rationality on its own is not a natural or necessary part
of territorial rule, but must be articulated with other historically particular rationalities in order to be
effective in practice

China’s strategy and policy towards its ethnically dominated minority regions, especially Tibet, Xinjiang
and Hong Kong, has profound implications for regional and strategic studies. Among

In other words, network study analyses the causes and consequences of the actor’s and structure
actions and tries to unpack them.

Nation-states are inherent complex systems where neither the structure or agency takes precedence
and any attempt to outline a phenomenon through linear casual chains largely turns to be futile. Much
of the scholarly works on China’s policies in its autonomous regions have largely focused on the
hierarchical, absolute and state-centric dynamics thereby undermining/ignoring the complexity of the
structure involved among the various web of actors. The study proposes to present a complex and
highly interdependent reality operational in conditioning and containing these regions using ‘Network
Analysis’. Network Analysis as a tool and framework of study logically focuses on complex and
interdependent dynamics accentuating in favour of actor-structure oriented model with an emphasis on
particularities associated with the system ().

The autonomous regions of China, especially Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong, have a unique geopolitical
and historical significance which places them at the very core of China’s national interest. Moreover, the
conflict between the ethnic minorities and Chinese government depicts one of the most intractable
domestic/local political antagonisms in the global world. The coercive policies and intimidation
strategies of China over the years had a significant impact on the stability and security in the
autonomous regions. Studying China through its engagement with the domestic security structure,
regime’s coercive and intimidation polices allows us to have a holistic view of the Orwellian authoritative
system in these regions. By doing so the study aims to reflect how the structure and behavior in the
autonomous regions are adapted to the situations and challenges faced by the communist party rather
than viewing them as predefined, predictable, insular and linear process. Network analysis as a tool help
us to understand these complex systems. Complexity, here, can be defined as systems which has a non-
linear phenomenon and where there is a difficulty in observing the proportionality between inputs and
outcomes (). The overarching aim of this study, using network analysis, is to look at some of the blind
spots which are overlooked by the previous scholarly works. To examine China’s policy towards its
autonomous regions a two-fold study is proposed 1) adopting network analysis to observe the classic
war-centered and neo-classic peace centered perspectives in the realm of geo-political and strategic
studies where they both supplement each other 2) to understand the perspective of the China’s
presidents/chairman’s in shaping the government policies towards these regions.

As understood network analysis involves complex interplay of actors, structures and their actions. To
capture and make a sense of all elements and their interaction in a complex network is a difficult
process. So, to analyse the various facets involved, the study proposes six strategic analytic dimensions:
identity, violence, capability, communication, foreign policy and geo-politics. The study of the above six
analytic dimensions are mainly structured around the following: agency and structure, defense and
offense, ideational and material factors and ends and means. Building upon this strategic network
analysis, the study aims to broaden the conventional understandings of the security structure in the
autonomous regions by arguing that these measures cannot be understood as mere security remedies
or those attached to geo-political significance rather must be seen as discursive practices that
aims/works to (re)produce identities of the minorities and achieve other agendas by constructing a
hierarchical and normative reality.

the idea is to explore the perspective of Chinese leadership towards its ethnically dominated
autonomous regions against the backdrop of a social confrontation between the government and the
minorities.

The proposed study offers a network analysis of the process and seeks to apply it to the peripheral
provinces of China’s autonomous regions- Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong. The reason behind choosing
these three provinces in China is because they share similar geopolitical conflicts and historical
experiences. Though the regions are geographically distant, face different geopolitical threats and only
have a few policy issues in common but nonetheless the existence of ‘network’ is inherent and has been
very much present in how the communist party actually formulates policies of these regions. Using
constructivism theory and neo-classical realism, the study aims to explore how the process of national
identity reformation in the larger scheme of things of national interest. Specifically, the research focuses
on past legacies of actors and how the structure limits and constrains policy choices of those in power.

Also, the research aims to study how China’s policy framework in the autonomous regions has been
conditioned and developed from a strategic perspective of successive Presidents/Chairman’s and
domestic political developments.

for long been contentious provinces between Chinese government and the ethnic minorities there
presents us with a case to look into the minority subjugation through the lens of

Extending further, the study seeks to explore the concept of network analysis and apply it to the
development of China policy towards its autonomous regions from Mao to Xi Jinping. Adopting a
network analysis allows us to integrate the classical war centered and neo-classical peace centered
perspectives in the realm of geo-political and strategic studies where they both supplement each other.
Extending further, network analysis as a framework helps us to understand state actors and their actions
to create and manipulative power to further its desired ends in a dynamic domestic and international
society. An attempt to study the structural changes and transformation from a network analysis
perspective is mainly to comprehend two schools of thought of China; understanding the integrated
network structure of the China’s autonomous regions and the evolution of the network structure in
autonomous regions.

Complex web of actors (including subsidiaries, affiliates, etc), structure, and communication between
them in a geo-political area of significance are a symbol for tension between government and those
subjugated by its power. The autonomous regions of China’s policy toward its ethnic minorities
especially in Tibet, Xinjiang and Honk Kong, have evolved from a cautious rapprochement to aggressive
human engineering experiment. To understand this transition and the long confrontation between the
party and ethnic minorities there is a need to look beyond the hierarchical, absolute and state-centric
dynamics.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The central claim of the proposed study is that the study proposes that each variable in the article

The study sees/proposes network analysis as a viable conceptual framework to understand the complex
ethno-political and security policies in the autonomous regions of China. Network analysis as a
framework is capable of capturing the structural, ideational and inter-subjective factors into a coherent
analysis with a focus on particularities in the system. Moreover, given the multivariate approach needed
for the study use of network analysis will help to accommodate a variety of policy choices in both
domestic and foreign policy senses like deterrence, cultural diplomacy, bio-politics, etc.

The study proposes to adopt a stance of ‘theoretical pluralism’ where network analysis is used to
understand the power practice across the period of peace and conflict in these regions.

OBJECTIVES

METHODOLOGY

Neither a top-bottom or bottom-top approach sufficiently explains the bio-political conditioning—

Overall, the study aims to broaden our understanding of the complex and often interactive relationship
in the ---