How cheap is identity talk? A framework of identity frames and security discourse for the analysis of repression and legitimization of social movements in mainland China

This article approaches the repression and legitimization of mainland Chinese social movements through a framework that combines the theories of identity frames and securitization. Using the Democracy Wall movement of 1978-81 and the Student Democracy Movement of 1989 as its cases, the article shows how various identity frames, which both the movements and the authorities produce in their interactions, can be seen as attempts both to legitimize protest and make it illegitimate through security discourse. This combination provides a framework which can be used to analyze and conceptualize the interaction between protest movements and authorities that has been lacking in studies on Chinese protest even though there is extensive research on the subject.