Localised tropes of antisemitism and the Holocaust in East-Asian political discourses: three case studies

Abstract

This article focuses on the ways in which concepts and tropes of the Holocaust are used as political instruments in a part of the world that was not immediately affected by its events. It reviews the use of these concepts in selected cases from areas of political conflict in South Korea, Malaysia, and China and compares them with a view to finding a common denominator specific to these Asian countries. The article questions the futility of the current attempt to regulate definitions of antisemitism and its detachment from the realities of politics and academic and public discourse, especially in Asia. Finally, it demonstrates that the semantics of the Holocaust in the selected cases seldom signify anti-Jewish sentiment but are used for other rhetorical and political purposes.