Tuesday 3rd November 2009, 5.00pm
Arts Lecture Theatre, New Arts Faculty Building


Terrorism Questions in Xinjiang: Contesting Western and Chinese Views

Seminar by
Dr Marc Lanteigne, CSTPV Research Fellow, School of IR

Marc Lanteigne is a Lecturer in the School of International Relations at St. Andrews, specialising in Chinese politics and foreign relations, including traditional and non-traditional strategic relations. He is the author of several articles on China’s foreign policy and the books Chinese and International Institutions: Alternate Paths to Global Power, and Chinese Foreign Policy: An Introduction.


Abstract

The far-western territory of Xinjiang has been the focus of China’s concerns about not only domestic terrorism, but also the intrusion of foreign terrorist actors, including those affiliated with Al-Qaeda, into the country. China has placed blame on the East Turkestan Independence Movement (ETIM) for attacks in the region since the 1990s, but the advent of the War on Terror has greatly internationalised this issue. However, events in Xinjiang, including the violence there in June 2009, have also underscored differences in the perceptions of counter-terrorism between China and the West.