
The War on the Uyghurs
On sale now from
Princeton University Press and Manchester University Press
Named one of Best Books of 2021
by the journal Foreign Affairs
“Sean Roberts has done an immense service for all those who need to put headlines about Chinese repression of Uyghurs in recent years in proper context. Describing how the rhetoric and practices of ‘global war on terror’ since 2001 have led to the mass internment, persecution, and surveillance of the population, Roberts shows that the Chinese campaign has chillingly aimed at nothing less than the destruction of Uyghur identity. This account is masterful, and educational and enraging by turns.”
“Based in a deep understanding of realities on the ground, Roberts’s analysis of the interaction between China’s settler colonialism and indigenous Uyghur resistance over the past ten years is far richer than what has been offered anywhere else. This is an extremely timely book, and badly needed.”
“Roberts provides a comprehensive explanation for the current arbitrary mass detention of Uyghurs in China, an issue of global geopolitical significance. His book will likely become a standard reference for students on this topic.”
“Sophisticated, nuanced, and deeply informed. Roberts offers broad insights into the ways the global war on terror has enabled authoritarian regimes around the world to repress minority populations.”
“This book should act as a wake-up call for policy makers worldwide. Armed with the piercing and detailed analysis of the recent past in East Turkistan, and the graphic accounts of the present, no one has any further excuse for failing to grasp the full reality of the human tragedy that is taking place. Roberts de-mystifies the background, debunks the false excuses of the Chinese State, and presents the reality of the persecution unfolding before our eyes. None of us can afford to look away.”
REVIEWS
China’s Treatment of Uighur Culture and Identity
By. Nick Holdstock
The Times Literary Supplement (London times)
September 25, 2020
A Carefully researched study of Beijing’s repression in Xinjiang
By Christian Shepherd
The Financial Times
October 19, 2020
By Andrew J. Nathan
Foreign Affairs
March/April 2021
By David Brophy
Australian Foreign Affairs
July 2021
By Jeffrey Wasserstrom
Dissent Magazine
Winter 2021
By Darren Byler
Los Angeles Review of Books China Channel
February 18, 2021
New Statesman
September 16, 2020
By Ben Mauk
Reason
December 2021
By Charles Dunst
LSE Review of Books
January 21, 2021
By Sarah Tynen
Geopolitics
June 1, 2021
By Muhämmäd Uyghur
The Uyghurs: The Magazine of the Uyghur Culture and Survival
September-October, 2020
By Ruth Ingram
Bitter Winter
November 4, 2020
By Hasan Suroor
Business-Standard (India)
December 2, 2020
In the News
By Catherine Putz
September 1, 2020
The Diplomat
By Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian
November 10, 2020
AXIOS
An Interview with Sean R. Roberts by Matthew Byrd
April 29, 2021
Jacobin
By Mercy A. Kuo
August 2, 2021
The Diplomat
By Rebecca Ruth Gould
January 14, 2021
Current Affairs
By Emily Feng and John Ruwitch
NPR - All Things Considered
By Joel Gunter
August 28, 2021
BBC
By Stephanie Findlay, Christian Shepherd, & James Kynge
July 5, 2021
Financial Times
By James Griffiths
May 15, 2021
CNN
By Meagan Flynn
March 19, 2021
Washington Post
By Chris Buckley and Austin Ramzy
September 24, 2020
The New York Times
By Shannon Tiezzi
May 29, 2021
The Diplomat
By Nathan Vanderklippe
November 16, 2020
The Globe and Mail
Айгерим Толеуханова и Нуртай Лаханулы
January 28, 2021
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
C-SPAN, September 22, 2020
The narrative used by US counter-terrorism has been harnessed by China against its Uighurs
By Mobashra Tazamal
October 15, 2020
Al-Araby (The New Arab)
By Shireen Qudosi
November 23, 2020
Clarion Project
By Amy Chew
November 29, 2020
South China Morning Post
By Kyle Haddad-Fonda
December 23, 2020
Responsible Statecraft
By Peter Harmsen
December 23, 2020
Weekendavisen (Denmark)
By Chienyu Shih
January 16, 2021
The Sunday Guardian
Virtual book tour
The War Room with Ryan Ray
28 January 2021
The Burn Bag Podcast
November 30, 2020
