American anti-Chinese racism during the Covid-19 crisis and its strategic functions

Vrečko Ilc, Blaž (author), Šabič, Zlatko (author)

The Covid-19 crisis that hit the USA especially hard was accompanied by intensified anti-Chinese racism fuelled by the anti-Chinese rhetoric used by the Trump Administration. Although Trump's political opponents blamed him for having mismanaged the pandemic response, the anti-Chinese stance was a bipartisan issue. The article aims to analyse anti-Chinese racism in its systemic and historical dimensions. It examines the nature and strategic utility of anti-Chinese racism for past, the Trump, and future administrations as well as for America's elites generally. It is shown that anti-Chinese racism was substantially transformed during the pandemic and above all utilised to address the general destabilisation of the US-dominated socio-political and socio-economic order both at home and globally. China's growing importance around the world and the potential domestic destabilisation of the US mean that the strategic utility of anti-Chinese racism may well remain important for some time to come.

• Language: English
• Keywords: Covid-19 crisis, Trump’s presidency, anti- Chinese racism, systemic racism, foreign policy
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FDV - Faculty of Social Sciences
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 01.09.2021
• Year: 2021
• Number of pages: Str. 670-688, 694
• Numbering: Letn. 58, posebna št.
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-138721
• UDC: 323.14(73):616-036.22
• ISSN on article: 0040-3598
• DOI: 10.51936/tip.58.specialissue.670-688
• COBISS.SI-ID: 81148675
• Publication date in RUL: 10.08.2022

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Teorija in praksa : revija za družbena vprašanja
• Shortened title: Teor. praksa
• Publisher: Fakulteta za družbene vede
• ISSN: 0040-3598
• COBISS.SI-ID: 763652

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Ameriški protikitajski rasizem med krizo zaradi covid-19 in njegove strateške funkcije

Abstract

Krizo zaradi Covid-19, ki je posebej hudo prizadela ZDA, je spremljal močno povečan protikitajski rasizem, ki ga je podpihovala protirasistična retorika Trumpove administracije. Čeprav so Trumpa njegovi politični nasprotniki obtoževali napačnega upravljanja odziva na pandemijo, je bila protikitajska drža problem na obeh straneh. V članku analiziramo sistemsko in zgodovinsko razsežnost protikitajskega rasizma. Proučimo naravo in strateško uporabnost protikitajskega rasizma pri prejšnji, Trumpovi, in prihodnjih vladah ter pri ameriških elitah nasploh. Prikažemo, da se je protikitajski rasizem med pandemijo občutno spremenil, predvsem pa je bil uporabljen za spopadanje s splošno destabilizacijo družbenopolitične in družbenoekonomske ureditve pod vplivom ZDA doma in po svetu. Vse večji pomen Kitajske v svetu in potencialna notranja destabilizacija ZDA pomenita, da bo protikitajski rasizem verjetno strateško pomemben še kar nekaj časa.

• Keywords: Kriza Covid-19, Trumpovo predsedovanje, proti- Kitajski rasizem, sistemski rasizem, zunanja politika