Much has been written about the plight of the Uyghur minority in China’s Xinjiang province, but less attention has been placed on the systems and processes that have enabled the government’s actions.
Surveillance technologies now complement collective, face-to-face methods of surveillance and Maoist-era techniques of mass mobilization, enabling the Chinese party-state to govern and manage the biopolitical spaces of Uyghurs with greater intensity, according to the state’s precise norms.
In this event, recent contributors to International Affairs explore the technologies and security strategies behind the ‘de-extremization’ of Xinjiang. They also consider the implications more broadly state surveillance systems, and the extent to which Xinjiang may serve as a model for foreign authoritarian governments.
The discussion draws on the article, Securitization, surveillance and “de-extremization” in Xinjiang, published in the May 2021 issue of International Affairs.
