Contagious Spy Regimes: ‘The Uyghur Question’ and the Proliferation of Totalitarian Dynamics

Drawing on a study of the Uyghur diaspora and minority politics in China, this article examines spying and suspicion as both products and producers of the radical distinctions inherent in totalitarian dynamics. It argues that this mode of relating transcends spatial boundaries, extending beyond specific territories such as China or Xinjiang. Spying thus assumes a pervasive and contagious presence within social life pertaining to ‘the Uyghur issue’, with the spy—or ‘hidden third party’—emerging as a recurring figure across multiple domains and scales, embedding itself deeply within many facets of Uyghur existence, even beyond the borders of China. Furthermore, the article suggests that while anthropological enquiry shares certain features with espionage and may face constraints on access to information in politically charged contexts, these limitations can be productively harnessed to illuminate key aspects of the ethnographic field itself.