No CCP, No New China: Pastoral Power in Official Narratives in China

Xiaoling Zhang; Melissa Shani Brown; David O'Brien

doi:10.1017/S0305741018000954

No CCP, No New China: Pastoral Power in Official Narratives in China

Xiaoling Zhang, Melissa Shani Brown, David O'Brien

School of International Communications

Research output: Journal Publication › Article › peer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Guided by Michel Foucault's concept of pastoral power, this article examines the ways in which contemporary discourses within official narratives in China portray the state in a paternal fashion to reinforce its legitimacy. Employing interdisciplinary approaches, this article explores a number of sites in Urumqi, the regional capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), in order to map how a coherent official narrative of power and authority is created and reinforced across different spaces and texts. It demonstrates how both history and the present day are depicted in urban Xinjiang in order to portray the state in a pastoral role that legitimates its use of force, as well as emphasizing its core role in developing the region out of poverty and into civilization.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	784-803
Number of pages	20
Journal	China Quarterly
Volume	235
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305741018000954
Publication status	Published - 1 Sept 2018

Keywords

Foucault
Xinjiang
discipline
discourse
legitimacy
pastoral power
public space

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Geography, Planning and Development
Development
Political Science and International Relations

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1017/S0305741018000954

Cite this

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abstract = "Guided by Michel Foucault's concept of pastoral power, this article examines the ways in which contemporary discourses within official narratives in China portray the state in a paternal fashion to reinforce its legitimacy. Employing interdisciplinary approaches, this article explores a number of sites in Urumqi, the regional capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), in order to map how a coherent official narrative of power and authority is created and reinforced across different spaces and texts. It demonstrates how both history and the present day are depicted in urban Xinjiang in order to portray the state in a pastoral role that legitimates its use of force, as well as emphasizing its core role in developing the region out of poverty and into civilization.",

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AB - Guided by Michel Foucault's concept of pastoral power, this article examines the ways in which contemporary discourses within official narratives in China portray the state in a paternal fashion to reinforce its legitimacy. Employing interdisciplinary approaches, this article explores a number of sites in Urumqi, the regional capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), in order to map how a coherent official narrative of power and authority is created and reinforced across different spaces and texts. It demonstrates how both history and the present day are depicted in urban Xinjiang in order to portray the state in a pastoral role that legitimates its use of force, as well as emphasizing its core role in developing the region out of poverty and into civilization.

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No CCP, No New China: Pastoral Power in Official Narratives in China

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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