Many scholars perceive ethnic politics in China as an untouchable topic due to lack of data and contentious, even prohibitive, politics. This book fills a gap in the literature, offering a historical-political perspective on China's contemporary ethnic conflict. Yan Sun accumulates research via field trips, local reports, and policy debates to reveal rare knowledge and findings. Her long-time causal chain of explanation reveals the roots of China's contemporary ethnic strife in the centralizing and ethnicizing strategies of its incomplete transition to a nation state—strategies that depart sharply from its historical patterns of diverse and indirect rule. This departure created the institutional dynamics for politicized identities and ethnic mobilization, particularly in the outer regions of Tibet and Xinjiang. In the 21st century, such factors as the demise of socialist tenets and institutions that upheld interethnic solidarity, and the rise of identity politics and developmentalism, have intensified these built-in tensions.

‘Yan Sun draws on an unparalleled wealth of research to explain how Chinese policymakers and experts struggled in Xinjiang and Tibet, often choosing options that only worsened their problems. She deftly analyzes how official policies resulted in today's horrific conditions. The most important aspect of this may be Sun's efforts to persuade China toward reform. The prospect of using scholarship to forge a bridge with China is a worthy endeavor. An indispensable source for students and policy-makers alike, this book is likely to have a major impact on our understanding of the evolution of ethnic policies in China.'

Gilbert Rozman - Princeton University

‘What are the roots of China's policies in Xinjiang and Tibet? How have state classifications created ‘nationalities,' even that of the Han majority? Has China's ideal of central guidance made ethnic politics more contentious, or less? Why, in Mao's time, did Beijing use ‘carrots' in measures for minorities – but ‘sticks' are used in Xi's era? Anyone interested in such questions must read this book. There is no better source on the deep and recent history of ethnic policies in China.'

Lynn T. White, III - Princeton University

‘This book is written by a fair-minded Han Chinese scholar who has many close relatives in Xinjiang and a deep feeling for the place and its people. It is based on many years of research and features abundant new data previously unavailable to English readers, as well as nuanced analyses of the development of China's ethnic policies and their unintended consequences. The book is a tour de force; a must-read for those interested in understanding the history of China's frontiers and the ongoing ethnic conflict in Xinjiang and Tibet.'

Dingxin Zhao Source: The University of Chicago

'… highly innovative and excellently researched.'

Colin Mackerras Source: Pacific Affairs