Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to show how fast transformations in Xinjiang socio-economic environment are impacting Uyghur identity. The traditional, mainly rural, society of Xinjiang is understood in the framework of the broader goal of building a national identity. The emphasis on ethnicity is thus being downscaled by adopting a circumstantialist approach that allows the government to build a Chinese nation (中华民族 zhonghua minzu). While, since the 1950s, the national government carried on a policy of affirmative action, this trend is being reversed and a circumstantialist approach to ethnicity reflects and unmasks power dynamics and development disparities in Xinjiang, while Uyghur multiple identities are heavily impacted by these transformations, as cultural and religious specificities are not considered.
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Cappelletti, A. (2020). Uyghurs vs. Uyghurs: Fragmented Identities in Contemporary Xinjiang. In: Socio-Economic Development in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1536-1_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1536-1_6
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