Ethnoregional disparity, ethnoterritoriality and peripheral nationalism: Socioracial dilemmas in contemporary China

While Chinese economic reform in the recent decades has brought about stunning economic miracles, it also aggravated the problems of unemployment, poverty and inequality that continue to plague China in her politicosocioeconomic development into the new millennium, and with poverty having the proper...

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Main Author: Yeoh, Emile Kok Kheng
Format: Article
Published: Institute of China Studies 2010
Subjects:
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author Yeoh, Emile Kok Kheng
author_facet Yeoh, Emile Kok Kheng
author_sort Yeoh, Emile Kok Kheng
collection UM
description While Chinese economic reform in the recent decades has brought about stunning economic miracles, it also aggravated the problems of unemployment, poverty and inequality that continue to plague China in her politicosocioeconomic development into the new millennium, and with poverty having the properties of being concentrated in the western region and in the ethnic minority areas, ethnoregionalization of poverty inevitably ensues, presenting the country not only with economic challenges but also long-term sociopolitical uncertainties. Focusing on the involuted nexus between the challenges posed by central-peripheral conflicts, ethnoterritorial aspirations, income and wealth inequalities and interregional economic disparity exacerbated by the country's "retreat from equality" over the recent decades, the revival of old regionalisms, the creation of new regionalisms brought about by increased local autonomy, as well as the evolving role of the one-party State in the economy and society, this paper proceeds to ponder the pitfalls and prospects of further decentralization and contemplates the feasibility of the road beyond fiscal federalism. While the alleviation of the multi-faceted problem of poverty in China is inevitably linked to the country's regional and minority policies and hence may call for a stronger emphasis on the elements of decentralization and localization, the paper does caution that the same problem with its ethnoregional dimension may also add to decentralization the threat of centrifugal tendencies especially if decentralization leads to a politics of cutthroat competition instead of a decentralized politics of accommodation and the resultant provincial protectionism intensifies local particularism and precipitates secessionistic ethnogenesis or reethnicization.
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spelling um.eprints-1722019-11-07T04:46:43Z http://eprints.um.edu.my/172/ Ethnoregional disparity, ethnoterritoriality and peripheral nationalism: Socioracial dilemmas in contemporary China Yeoh, Emile Kok Kheng H Social Sciences (General) HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform While Chinese economic reform in the recent decades has brought about stunning economic miracles, it also aggravated the problems of unemployment, poverty and inequality that continue to plague China in her politicosocioeconomic development into the new millennium, and with poverty having the properties of being concentrated in the western region and in the ethnic minority areas, ethnoregionalization of poverty inevitably ensues, presenting the country not only with economic challenges but also long-term sociopolitical uncertainties. Focusing on the involuted nexus between the challenges posed by central-peripheral conflicts, ethnoterritorial aspirations, income and wealth inequalities and interregional economic disparity exacerbated by the country's "retreat from equality" over the recent decades, the revival of old regionalisms, the creation of new regionalisms brought about by increased local autonomy, as well as the evolving role of the one-party State in the economy and society, this paper proceeds to ponder the pitfalls and prospects of further decentralization and contemplates the feasibility of the road beyond fiscal federalism. While the alleviation of the multi-faceted problem of poverty in China is inevitably linked to the country's regional and minority policies and hence may call for a stronger emphasis on the elements of decentralization and localization, the paper does caution that the same problem with its ethnoregional dimension may also add to decentralization the threat of centrifugal tendencies especially if decentralization leads to a politics of cutthroat competition instead of a decentralized politics of accommodation and the resultant provincial protectionism intensifies local particularism and precipitates secessionistic ethnogenesis or reethnicization. Institute of China Studies 2010-12 Article PeerReviewed Yeoh, Emile Kok Kheng (2010) Ethnoregional disparity, ethnoterritoriality and peripheral nationalism: Socioracial dilemmas in contemporary China. International Journal of China Studies, 1 (2). pp. 569-644. ISSN 2180-3250, https://www.dropbox.com/s/cgka4067asy6chs/IJCS-V1N2-final-021110.pdf
spellingShingle H Social Sciences (General)
HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
Yeoh, Emile Kok Kheng
Ethnoregional disparity, ethnoterritoriality and peripheral nationalism: Socioracial dilemmas in contemporary China
title Ethnoregional disparity, ethnoterritoriality and peripheral nationalism: Socioracial dilemmas in contemporary China
title_full Ethnoregional disparity, ethnoterritoriality and peripheral nationalism: Socioracial dilemmas in contemporary China
title_fullStr Ethnoregional disparity, ethnoterritoriality and peripheral nationalism: Socioracial dilemmas in contemporary China
title_full_unstemmed Ethnoregional disparity, ethnoterritoriality and peripheral nationalism: Socioracial dilemmas in contemporary China
title_short Ethnoregional disparity, ethnoterritoriality and peripheral nationalism: Socioracial dilemmas in contemporary China
title_sort ethnoregional disparity ethnoterritoriality and peripheral nationalism socioracial dilemmas in contemporary china
topic H Social Sciences (General)
HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
work_keys_str_mv AT yeohemilekokkheng ethnoregionaldisparityethnoterritorialityandperipheralnationalismsocioracialdilemmasincontemporarychina