Ethnic Minorities and State Nationalism in China

This paper analyses the role of ethnic minorities in Chinese nationalist discourse. Nationalism is understood as a fundamental instrument for identity construction, territorial integrity and state stability. The central argument assumes that: 1) the problem of minorities is the result of a long histori-cal tradition, the country's own definition of nation or ethnicity (minzu (sic)(sic)) and the very existence of China as a civilization, and 2) Chinese nationalism promotes the insertion of national minorities (shaoshu minzu (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)) based on the principle of "unity in diversity" (duoyuan yiti (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)). Through a qualitative-historical analysis, ethnic minorities are addressed in Confucianism, the Qing dynasty, the Republican era and Communism to the present day. This is done through some examples of recent official discourse and a quantitative analysis of the degree of national pride of the main ethnic groups and the religions practiced by them.