From the perspective of identity and security, East Turkestan policy of People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China named historically called the East Turkestan as Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in 1955. The majority of the people in East Turkestan are composed of the Muslim Uighur Turks and the other Turkic minorities such as Kazakhs and Kyrgyz. Because of the Turkic population in the region, and bordering with Turkic Central Asian states, the Chinese government has concerned the control of the region. Thus, the demographic condition, abundant natural resources, geopolitical location of the region made the Chinese state, dominated and controlled by the Han Chinese, to attempt to fully control the region. Because of suppression and assimilative policy of the Chinese governments, the people of East Turkestan came to be demanding more freedom and rights. Over time, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region became a troubled region for the People's Republic of China and an international issue that the international community called the East Turkestan Question. In this context the main objective of this thesis is to determine the Chinese policies towards the people of East Turkestan which has strategic importance for the People's Republic of China. Therefore, in this thesis, I will analyze Chinese policies towards the region and people who live there. Are China's policies towards the people of region is the cause of the East Turkistan question?" I will answer this question in the thesis. The most proper International Relations Theory which can explain the East Turkistan policy of China is constructivist approach. Therefore, constructivism will provide the theoretical basis of the thesis for understanding, explaining and analyzing the East Turkestan Question. Key Words: Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, East Turkestan Question, Identity, Security, Interest, Geopolitics