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Ethno-politics in the People’s Republic of China

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Abstract

This study describes the ethnic diversity that exists within the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and how the country’s government has approached the issue of interethnic relations. Focusing on the examples of the Tibetan and Uyghur ethnic groups, the essay identifies significant changes that are apparent in the government’s posture toward minority communities during the periods of Maoist extremism and the reform era. Recent episodes of protest and violence by minority communities are attributed to continuing social discrimination and significant limitations associated with the government’s efforts to address minority grievances. The essay concludes with a consideration of different proposals to reform the government’s approach to ethnic relations within the PRC.

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Correspondence to Matthew Hoddie .

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Hoddie, M. (2019). Ethno-politics in the People’s Republic of China. In: Ratuva, S. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2898-5_147

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