Reza Hasmath

Contents:

1. Introduction

2. The Ethno-Racial Privilege Framework

3. The Construction of Ethnic Identity in China

4. Types of Han Chinese Privilege

5. The Absence of Han Privilege Discourse

6. Conclusion

Abstract:

This article discusses the conceptual underpinnings and performance of Han Chinese privilege in the People’s Republic of China. It suggests that Han Chinese privilege has gained salience from specific public policies and philosophies of governance. This is aptly viewed across a range of sites, including the labour market and media, and involves state institutions and micro-level everyday interactions between the Han Chinese and the ethnic minority populations. Finally, the article theorizes why a robust Han Chinese privilege discourse has not emerged, and remains largely an unacknowledged concept.

Citation:

Hasmath, R. (2024) “The Operations of Contemporary Han Chinese Privilege”, China Information 38(1): 3-23.

Available in Chinese and German:

当代汉族特权的运作

Die Funktionsweise des Zeitgenössischen Privilegs der Han-Chinesen

This talk provides a candid account of how the Chinese citizenry currently thinks about the world. It draws upon findings from the second iteration of the Chinese Citizens’ Global Perception Survey (CCGPS) conducted by the speaker in the first quarter of 2024. CCGPS 2024 is a national survey looking at mainland Chinese citizens’ perspectives on China’s current relations with global actors, including, Australia, Canada, EU, France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, UK and USA. The talk examines four key areas of analytical interest: (1) Chinese citizens’ global perception of trusted partners, and those jurisdictions that may be more antagonistic in the near future; (2) views on China’s global roles; (3) preferences for foreign tourism, study, work and emigration; and, (4) Chinese citizens’ sources and knowledge of global jurisdictions. The ultimate aim of the talk is to provide timely, data-driven evidence that can assist key stakeholders to develop targeted and considered strategies for enlightened and productive engagement with mainland China.

See the accompanying report here.

In many parts of the world, democratic values and institutions are being eroded, while autocrats and ‘strongmen’ are gaining power in democratic nations, and consolidating it in autocratic ones. This panel talk dissects the causes and consequences of these alarming trends, examining case studies from multiple regions, as well as cross-cutting themes such as the role of disinformation, populism and polarization. What can be done to protect against these forces? And what are the prospects for reversing the decline of democracy and the advance of autocracy?

Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Discourse and Deliberative Processes in the Public Sphere

3. The Politics of Difference

4. Authoritarian Discourse and Deliberation

5. Authoritarian Difference

6. Conclusion

Abstract:

This article explores how discourse, deliberation and difference functions in an authoritarian environment, with an emphasis on the experiences of contemporary China. The article articulates why authoritarian discourse and deliberation is more limited than its Western democratic counterpart. It further suggests that the incorporation of difference into authoritarian discourse and deliberation is difficult due to the inherent tensions between the ‘Other’ and the ruling elite in authoritarian polities. Nevertheless, these constraints do not invalidate the notion that public discourse and deliberation is theoretically possible and has a practical function in authoritarian regimes.

Citation:

Hasmath, R. (2023) “Discourse, Deliberation and Difference in an Authoritarian Public Sphere”, Journal of Deliberative Democracy 19(1): 1-10.

Available in Chinese, French, German and Russian:

独裁公共领域中的话语, 商议和差异

Débats, Délibérations et Divergences dans une Société Publique Autoritaire

Diskurs, Deliberation und Differenz in einem Autoritären Öffentlichen Raum

Дискурс, дискуссия и различия в авторитарной публичной сфере

This talk looks at the altruistic authoritarian citizen through the lens of understanding their (non-)participation in philanthropic and voluntaristic activities in contemporary China.

For more information, click here.

This talk provides a candid account of how the Chinese citizenry currently thinks about other nations, and their relationship with China. It draws upon findings from the first iteration of the Chinese Citizens’ Global Perception Survey (CCGPS) conducted in the first quarter of 2023. CCGPS 2023 is a national survey looking at mainland Chinese citizens’ perspectives on China’s current relations with global actors, including, Australia, Canada, EU, France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, UK and USA. The talk will focus on discussing the major findings, and potential policy implications, pertaining to Chinese citizens’ (1) general global perception; (2) views on China’s global roles; (3) preferences for foreign tourism, study, work and immigration; and, (4) sources and knowledge of global jurisdictions. Suffice it to say, how Chinese citizens perceive the world will have profound implications for China’s future domestic and international behaviour, as well as for the global actors that intimately engage with China.

See the accompanying report ⁠here⁠.

Contents:

1. Introduction

2. The Context

3. Short Term Strategies (Under a Year)

4. Medium Term Strategies (1 to 3 Years)

5. Long Term Strategies (3 Years Plus)

6. Conclusion

Abstract:

Current policies to manage ethnic minority unrest in Xinjiang are not working, and they do not address the core root causes behind ethnic tensions. Drawing upon lessons learned from global approaches to improve inter-ethnic relations, and factoring China’s institutional behaviour and norms, this essay looks at policy responses that can be entertained by the state to improve the conditions of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. It suggests that in the short-term (under a year) the state can be more responsible in using the big data it collects for targeted surveillance, in tandem with a community engagement approach. In the medium-term (1-3 years), the state can employ practices to reduce ethnic prejudice by encouraging increased meaningful intergroup contact, and promoting a positive media portrayal of ethnic minorities. In the long-term (3 years plus), improving the relative socio-economic ethnic inequalities is paramount. 

Citation:

Hasmath, R. (2022) “Future Responses to Managing Muslim Ethnic Minorities in China: Lessons Learned from Global Approaches to Improving Inter-Ethnic Relations”, International Journal 77(1): 51-67. 

Available in Chinese, French, German and Japanese:

中国管理穆斯林少数民族的未来应对措施：从改善民族间关系的全球方法中吸取的教训

Réponses Futures à la Gestion des Minorités Ethniques Musulmanes en Chine: Leçons Tirées des Approches Mondiales pour Améliorer les Relations Interethniques

Künftige Reaktionen auf den Umgang mit Muslimischen Ethnischen Minderheiten in China: Lehren aus Globalen Ansätzen zur Verbesserung der Interethnischen Beziehungen

中国におけるムスリム少数民族の管理に対する今後の対応：民族間関係を改善するためのグローバルなアプローチから学んだ教訓

This talk explores the relationship between volunteerism, philanthropy, and civic engagement in contemporary China. It discusses new forms of citizen-led initiatives that are complementary to, or supplanting, state-led ones.

See the accompanying papers:

1. Citizens’ Expectations for Crisis Management and the Involvement of Civil Society Organizations in China.  

2. Getting Rich But Not Giving? Exploring the Mechanisms Impeding Charitable Giving in China.

3. The Construction and Performance of Citizenship in Contemporary China.

4. Volunteerism and Democratic Learning in an Authoritarian State: The Case of China.

Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Theoretical Framework

3. Methodology

4. Results

5. Conclusion

Abstract:

Citizenship education has been an explicit part of the universal education system in contemporary China. Using data from an original nationwide survey conducted in 2018, this study tests the hypothesis that the longer the intensity of exposure to citizenship education, the more citizens are influenced by a state-led conception of citizenship characterized by passive obedience and loyalty to the state. The study finds mixed results in that citizenship education is effective at lower educational levels, but at higher levels it is not only less effective, but instead may foster (or at minimum, does not deter) more active conceptions of citizenship.

Citation:

Hsu, C., Teets, J. Hasmath, R., Hsu, J. and Hildebrandt, T. (2022) “The Construction and Performance of Citizenship in Contemporary China”, Journal of Contemporary China 31(138): 827-843. 

Available in Chinese:

当代中国公民身份建构与表现

Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Citizens Expectations and State Performance Legitimacy in a Period of National Crisis

3. Data

4. Results and Discussion

5. Implications and Conclusion

Abstract:

Chinese citizens are relatively happy with the state’s management of national disasters and emergencies. However, they are increasingly concluding that the state alone cannot manage them. Leveraging the 2018 and 2020 Civic Participation in China Surveys, we find that more educated citizens conclude that the government have a leading role crisis management, but there is ample room for civil society organizations (CSOs) to act in a complementary fashion. On a slightly diverging path, volunteers who have meaningfully interacted with CSOs are more skeptical than non-volunteers about CSOs’ organizational ability to fulfill this crisis management function. These findings imply that the political legitimacy of the Communist Party of China is not challenged by allowing CSOs a greater role in crisis management. 

Citation:

Hasmath, R., Hildebrandt, T., Teets, J., Hsu, J. and Hsu, C. (2022) “Citizens’ Expectations for Crisis Management and the Involvement of Civil Society Organizations in China”, Journal of Current Chinese Affairs 51(2): 292-312.

Available in Chinese:

权威主义国家的志愿服务和民主学习: 以中国为例：民众对国家所有制和市场监管的态度