NATIONAL IDENTITY IN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA, WHY DEMOCRACY FAILS
Author
Botnar, Constanta
Term
4. term
Publication year
2021
Submitted on
2021-05-28
Pages
47
Abstract
This thesis examines why the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has struggled to establish democracy. It notes that the Chinese Communist Party shows limited willingness to begin such reforms. The thesis argues that the reasons lie in China’s national identity challenges and in the PRC’s firm commitment to nationalistic homogenization—policies that aim to make the population more culturally and politically uniform. Within this framework, many ethnic and cultural minorities are seen as potential threats to territorial integrity, meaning the state’s goal of maintaining full control over all its territory and preventing secession. According to the thesis, these identity and unity concerns underpin Beijing’s resistance to democratization.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvorfor Folkerepublikken Kina (PRC) har svært ved at etablere demokrati. Det peger på, at Kinas Kommunistiske Parti kun i begrænset omfang ønsker at indlede sådanne reformer. Specialet argumenterer for, at forklaringen ligger i Kinas udfordringer med national identitet samt i PRC’s faste linje om nationalistisk homogenisering—en politik, der søger at gøre befolkningen mere ensartet i kultur og politisk loyalitet. I denne ramme bliver mange etniske og kulturelle minoriteter opfattet som en potentiel trussel mod landets territoriale integritet, dvs. statens mål om at bevare fuld kontrol over hele sit territorium og forhindre løsrivelse. Ifølge specialet er det disse identitets- og enhedshensyn, der ligger bag Beijings modstand mod demokratisering.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
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