The struggle between subaltern nationalisms and the nation-state in the digital age: China and its ethnic minorities

The Internet is generally considered as the core of radical politics in the digital age and is believed to have the capacity to mobilize oppositional forces to resist against dominant power structures. In the 2011 Arab Spring, the Internet’s role was perceived to be central in this series of movements for political reform and regime change (Rane and Salem 2012). However, the prediction that the Internet may have democratizing effects on contemporary Chinese society has not yet come true.