The long arm of the state : Tibetan diaspora and transnational hegemony

Abstract

This study presents a review of digital technologies and their globalizing effects regarding Tibetans living in diaspora. Specifically, this research involves Tibetan-Americans living in the mid-western United States and their responses to the use of digital technology in diasporic cultural maintenance and transnational hegemony. Two topics of interest are primarily dealt with herein. First, the issue of digital technology and its use in global surveillance and political suppression, specifically regarding conflicts between Chinese state apparatuses and diasporic Tibetan activist groups. Second, this thesis shows the various ways Tibetans in diaspora use digital technology to negotiate, maintain, and participate in their cultural community. In this way, the thesis demonstrates both the freeing and constricting effects digital technologies bring to social groups in the digital age.