Tibet

Abstract

Nationalism is expressed differently by Tibetans in exile and by Tibetans within Tibet. Tibetans in South Asia and the west, supported by western sympathizers, engage in a form of diaspora nationalism epitomized by the Dalai Lama and the Free Tibet movement, which consists of a web of loosely connected organizations undertaking street and online activism globally. They directly confront the Chinese government on questions of historical legitimacy, cultural and religious restrictions, and human rights. Tibetans in Tibet, on the other hand, engage in ethnic and cultural nationalism, mostly in the form of passive resistance to the Chinese state's rhetoric and policies and through the assertion of ethnic and cultural identity in everyday life choices. There are also local and uncoordinated eruptions of public dissent, such as the widespread protests on the eve of the Beijing Olympics and, more recently, self‐immolations. Religion is strongly politicized, as is faith in the Dalai Lama.