Transporting Conflicts via Migratory Routes: A Social Network Analysis (SNA) of Uyghur International Mobilisation

Transnational activism of the Uyghur diaspora in promoting the rights of their kindred back in China has been the focus of attention of the academia, press and media alike. This paper is a preliminary attempt at visualising the connections between Uyghur diaspora organisations, their sympathisers, governments and news organisations. A Social Network Analysis (SNA) of four data sets that chronologically record the diaspora’s political activities from 2006 to 2009 was carried out towards this end. Offline Uyghur networks were analysed and its results compared to those of an SNA of websites that promote Uyghur interests online. Results corroborate the widely held view that World Uyghur Congress (WUC) and the well-known Uyghur leader, RebiyaKadeer, play pivotal roles in mobilising Uyghur communities around the world. Although the WUC’s online role is less prominent than its offline role, it wields considerable influence over Uyghur activism across the globe, as highlighted by the case study of Uyghur linkages in Australia. Uyghur American Association (UAA), which is active offline as well, emerges as a key information provider of Uyghur issues in cyberspace.