JHU SAIS Publishes Report on the Xinjiang Problem in China

The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute (CACI) at the Johns Hopkins Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) recently published a report about the Xinjiang Province in China.

Xinjiang, China's western border province comprising 18 percent of the country's entire land area, is a region beset by change and increasingly, confrontation between two very distinct peoples-the more recently arrived Han Chinese and the indigenous Uyghur Turkic Muslims. The confrontation sets the Uyghur quest for autonomy or sovereignty against Beijing's push to assimilate and absorb the oil-rich province. Conflict in this pivotal area could affect all of inner Asia.

"The Xinjiang Problem," a report written by Frederick Starr, CACI chairman, and Graham Fuller, former vice chairman of the National Intelligence Council, examines the geopolitical implications of fours years of collaborative research by "The Xinjiang Project" on the region and offers policy recommendations for national governments and international bodies on how to deal with this conflict.

The 82-page report precedes the publication of a forthcoming book on the topic entitled, Xinjiang: China's Muslim Borderland. The book, which is edited by Starr and to be released by M.E. Sharpe, Inc., in 12/2003, will provide an authoritative introduction to the territory and its people-past and present. The 17 scholars of "The Xinjiang Project," including Starr and Graham, contribute to this upcoming volume.To obtain a copy of "The Xinjing Problem," contact the CACI at 202.663.7723 or mlwalker@jhu.edu.

For more information about this publication or to set up an interview with the authors, contact Felisa Neuringer Klubes at the SAIS Public Affairs Office at 202.663.5626 or fklubes@jhu.edu.