China's political discourse towards the 21st century : victimhood, identity, and political power,

Cao, Qing; Renwick, Neil

Abstract

Political discourse is critical to the legitimisation of China's ruling elite and critically informs its formulation and execution of political action. This study explores the theme of victimhood in China's contemporary political discourse. The constructed nature of political discourse—the ‘official story’ in Benedict Anderson's phrase—draws upon a range of supporting sources. Of central importance is the role of history and one of its key features is the portrayal of China as victim. This offers a distinctive pole of identificatory attachment for the construction of a modernist reading of national Chinese political identity. The study conducts discourse analyses of three primary texts. It is concluded that objectified discursive power remains an influential factor in Chinese politics.

Citation

Cao, Q., & Renwick, N. (1999). China's political discourse towards the 21st century : victimhood, identity, and political power,. East Asia, 17(4), 111-143. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12140-999-0019-7

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 1999
• Deposit Date: Oct 8, 2012
• Journal: East Asia
• Print ISSN: 1096-6838
• Electronic ISSN: 1874-6284
• Publisher: Springer
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 17
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 111-143
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12140-999-0019-7
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1472444