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This chapter provides a history of how Uyghur terrorism evolved out of a long-standing conflict between Uyghurs and states based in China through a combination of PRC policies to stifle dissent in Xinjiang and the state’s opportunistic use of the U.S.-led “global war on terrorism”. It critically analyses existing sources on the origins and evolution of two Uyghur militant organizations, the “East Turkestan Islamic Movement” (ETIM) and “Turkestan Islamic Party” (TIP), that China holds responsible for acts of terrorism in Xinjiang and argues that the Chinese government has grossly over-exaggerating the capacity of these groups in order to brand and suppress Uyghur dissent at home. By using the threat of ETIM and TIP to target all religiously inclined Uyghurs as potential terrorists, however, it has enabled a self-fulfilling prophecy of Uyghur radicalization and militancy.

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One of the most important characteristics of the newly independent republic of Kazakstan is the multinational nature of its population. In addition to the members of the titular Kazak nationality, numerous Slavic, Turkic, and other peoples have made, or have been forced to make, Kazakstan their home. Most of these peoples, with the exception of the Kazaks, could be characterized as diasporas. However, the Uighurs, a Turkic Muslim people living in Kazakstan, are not a standard example of a diaspora. Unlike many of Kazakstan's diasporic communities, such as the Russians, Koreans, Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, and Germans, who can rely on outside support from recognized nation states to protect their rights, the Uighurs are a stateless people whose claims to sovereignty are not internationally recognized. Furthermore, unlike other stateless diasporas in Kazakstan, such as the Tatars, the Chechens, and the Mesketian TurksM whose homelands are clearly located outside of Kazakstan, the Uighurs’ “homeland” in China's Xinjiang province borders on the former Soviet republic, which raises the question of whether or not many Uighurs are indigenous to the territory of Kazakstan.

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