2026/04/03 by Musapir, Rune Steenberg · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #China's Ethnic Minorities and Relations #Diaspora, migration, transnational identity #Soviet and Russian History
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/14672715.2026.2625819
openalex publication_date 2026/04/03 · openalex created_date 2026/04/20 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/16
This article examines the shifting dynamics of Uyghur diaspora activism, tracing its trajectory from widespread silence before 2017 to a surge of family-centered mobilization between 2017 and 2020, followed by a subsequent ebb and re-fragmentation. We argue that family has simultaneously functioned as the Chinese state’s most effective lever of transnational repression and the diaspora’s most effective tool of activist mobilization. Threats to relatives at home created a climate of fear that silenced Uyghurs abroad; yet the sudden severing of contact with family after 2017 undermined that control and compelled thousands to speak out. This rupture precipitated the emergence of a family-centric form of campaigning that altered the global visibility of the Uyghur issue and legitimacy of Uyghur activism within and beyond the diaspora. Since 2020, the resumption of tightly monitored contact with family members has re-muted many voices, even as others remain engaged. This arc in Uyghur political mobilization offers insights into how family ties can simultaneously constrain and propel diaspora activism – an area that remains understudied – and foregrounds the intimate scales through which transnational repression operates and diaspora activism can emerge and take shape.