Transcending counterterrorism discourse: metaphors, identity politics and ideological security in Xinjiang

Abstract

El artículo examina el discurso del Partido Comunista de China (PCCh) sobre el terrorismo y la seguridad ideológica en Xinjiang a través del Análisis Crítico de Metáforas (CMA). Basado en un corpus de White Papers publicados entre 2003 y 2019, el estudio revela cómo el PCCh utiliza metáforas de agricultura, familia y viaje para construir legitimidad política y justificar políticas de integración étnica. Las metáforas de “China como granja” y “China como familia” muestran la subordinación de las identidades étnicas al concepto de civilización china, mientras que las metáforas de “viaje” presentan la modernización y el socialismo con características chinas como el camino correcto. Este análisis demuestra que las medidas de “prevención del extremismo” en Xinjiang, incluidas las políticas educativas, funcionan como instrumentos de legitimación ideológica y de control social dentro de un marco de seguridad nacional integral.

Following the 9/11 attacks in New York, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has referred to Xinjiang as the key battlefield of counterterrorism in China, and its countering measures as contributions to the international fight against terrorism and religious extremism. This paper transcends the labels of counterterrorism and prevention of extremism to delve deeper into the CPC official counterterrorism discourse in Xinjiang. Through Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA) it explores the underlying ideology of the CPC, essential to understand how perceived threats are interpreted and responded to, leading to political actions that reflect existing power structures within China’s political system. The analysis examines regional measures within the broader concept of “comprehensive national security” (Zǒngtǐ guójiā ānquán guān 总体国家安全观), deriving into policies that aim to integrate minority identities into a unified “Chinese identity” informed by Xi Jinping’s “Five Identifications” (wǔ gè rèntóng 五个认同) to protect and promote ideological security. This study contributes to discussions on China’s counterterrorism strategy, exploring it as part of a broader national security approach, where identity politics is central to the CPC’s legitimacy and, thus, regime stability.