Chinese demographic pressure into Siberia threatened Russia’s eastern periphery in the 1990s

Evidence

Whether that connection survives into the longer term depends largely on, first, the extent to which Russian relations with the West stabilize on a mutually satisfactory basis, and, second, the extent to which China’s rise to hegemony in East Asia threatens Russian interests, economically, demographically, militarily. The economic dynamism of China has spilled over into Siberia, and Chinese, along with Korean and Japanese, businesspersons are exploring and exploiting opportunities there. Russians in Siberia increasingly see their economic future connected to East Asia rather than to European Russia. More threatening for Russia is Chinese immigration into Siberia, with illegal Chinese migrants there purportedly numbering in 1995 3 million to 5 million, compared to a Russian population in Eastern Siberia of about 7 million. “The Chinese,” Russian Defense Minister Pavel Grachev warned, “are in the process of making a peaceful conquest of the Russian Far East.” Russia’s top immigration official echoed him, saying, “We must resist Chinese expansionism.” — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 673 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Iran” does not work as informal shorthand in quite the same way; it is the opposite of deterritorialized. Apart from any unscientific Family Feud survey, today 80 percent of Americans hold a “mostly” or “very” unfavorable opinion of Iran. Every presidential administration’s paradigmatic stance toward Iran since Jimmy Carter means that Iran does not operate in a symbolic sphere apart from its empirical, geographic location as what policy makers call the Middle East’s universal joint. Unlike Siberia, Iran is not a euphemism for something else; it is not shorthand that will stand in for any undesirably remote place. In fact, Iran is a “place where no one wants to go” precisely because of where it is and because of who lives there. — Neda Maghbouleh, The Limits of Whiteness, 353 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Chinese demographic and economic pressure in Siberia threatens centrifugal forces pulling Russia eastward — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 673; Iran remains a geographically anchored stigma while Siberia is a detachable metaphor — Neda Maghbouleh, The Limits of Whiteness: Iranian…, 353

Broader Connections

• Chinese demographic and economic pressure in Siberia threatens centrifugal forces pulling Russia eastward #corroborates (0.93) — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 673
• Iran remains a geographically anchored stigma while Siberia is a detachable metaphor #complicates (0.75) — Neda Maghbouleh, The Limits of Whiteness, 353