China’s Nationalist Discourse and Taiwan

Aleš Karmazin

China Report, 2017, vol. 53, issue 4, 429-446

Abstract: This article focuses on the role and position of Chinese nationalism in the China–Taiwan relationship. Through discourse analysis, it aims to contend with the frequently presented picture in the literature on Chinese nationalism, that is, that nationalism in China is (almost) omnipresent and omnipotent. In the article, nationalism is presented as a broad but nuanced phenomenon. By its very nature, nationalism is a multi-edged sword whose ‘edges’ have the potential to be positive and constructive in certain situations, as shown in China’s approach to Taiwan in which nationalism plays an enabling role in a relatively important way. However, the article reveals a hierarchy in the concepts upon which China’s official discourse is based. In doing so, it disentangles and separates the role of two key concepts—nationalism and sovereignty—which are generally seen as almost interchangeable. Ethics, morality and kinship in Chinese nationalism - as presented by China’s official discourse in the relation to Taiwan - are subordinated to the politics of sovereignty.

Keywords: China; Taiwan; nationalism; legitimacy; discourse (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:chnrpt:v:53:y:2017:i:4:p:429-446

DOI: 10.1177/0009445517727888

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