Jim Harper

Easing China’s Transition to - Nationalism?

This interesting post on The 463 reminds us that the opening of society in China may not lead to a blossoming of freedom and tolerance, but to a nationalist frenzy like we saw in the Balkans after the fall of communism there.

I don’t know whether the Chinese people have separate ethnic identities that would lead them to fight each other, or whether China as a whole would turn against the world (and especially the United States) in a fit of nationalist anger. Anyone?

If it’s not already happening, I can certainly see Chinese party officials whipping up nationalism seeking to hold power on the cheap.

Something to think about when you go to decide whether tech companies should engage with China. I still think they should, but soberly, and not so much like a neocon expecting to be met with flowers in Iraq.

August 5, 2008 | Comments |

Viewing 2 Comments

    • ^
    • v
    China is very much not an ethnically homogenous empire. Take the Uighurs, for instance. They're closer to modern Turks than Chinese, and there are something like 10,000,000 or more of them living in the Western part of China (which China conquered and colonized). Same thing with the Tibetans.

    Most libertarians and liberals are completely unprepared for the sort of racism and chauvinism they're likely to see in China. One could argue, though, that the nationalism of the Chinese has played a key role in keeping their country's culture going for so long. Unlike the West, the Chinese are quite confident in their own culture and people.

    Just look at what is being done to Africa by the Chinese if you want to see what we're up against. It's a combination of colonization, trade and military intervention that is triangulated nearly perfectly to expand Chinese wealth and territory abroad.
    • ^
    • v
    Ethnic minorities make up something like 9.5% of China, while the Han Chinese are about 90%. But even among the Han, there are many very distinct language dialects -- Mandarin, Shanghainese, Cantonese, etc.

    Although I believe "technologies of freedom" will *tend* to reduce nationalistic impulses, I think the question of nationalism in China is mostly governed by other factors. Clearly we've seen quasi-democracies and non-democracies exhibit nationalism. But very recently we've also witnessed the most modern of democracies exhibit fierce nationalism.

    China is emerging from 500 years of backward underperformance, and there is a distinct sense of national mission and pride. Whether these sentiments turn into some form of dangerous nationalism is another question. Politicians will use whatever emotions they can muster in times of distress. Nationalism seems to me often to be a form of defensiveness, usually under the perception of threat -- to one's territory or culture or economic security, etc. The most obvious way to stoke nationalist embers in China would be for America, Europe, Japan, or India to mount rhetorical or policy attacks on China. Engagement, while imperfectly influential, is still the best way to build the links and trust that muffle widespread outbreaks. Saving the counterproductive policies of withdrawal or attack from the outside, I don't see mass nationalism flaming out of control.
 

Trackbacks

(Trackback URL)

close Reblog this comment
Powered by Disqus · Learn more
blog comments powered by Disqus