Cold War in Asia: Maoist China, US Opening, China-US-USSR Relations
5-page paper. Each student will prepare a 5 pages, double spaced paper (if at all possible as a WORD document) analyzing or assessing some aspect(s) of the required readings. The paper should be well organized, well sourced and well written. If students choose to focus their paper on an aspect or aspects mentioned but not fully treated in the required readings, more research is required.
Students should be guided in this and the other writing assignments in this class noted below by the memo on the elements of a good five page essay
. Cold War in Asia: Maoist China, US opening, China-US-USSR relations. Borthwick, 371-412; Sutter, 31-41 ; Holcombe 330-340; 350-355; Donald Weatherbee International Relations of Southeast Asia p. 63-87. Robert Sutter Foreign Relations of the PRC, p. 29-76 ]. Recommended not required: Michael Yahuda , International Politics of the Asia Pacific fourth edition (2019) p. 13-52
Books.
Students are to read the assigned readings from the required texts for this course. The required texts are:
Mark Borthwick, Pacific Century: The Emergence of Modern Pacific Asia (fourth edition) Westview Press, 2014
Charles Holcombe, A History of East Asia (second edition) Cambridge University Press, 2017
Michael Yahuda, The International Politics of the Asia-Pacific, (fourth edition) (Routledge, 2019), ISBN 978-1-138-64707-7
Robert Sutter, The United States and Asia: Regional Dynamics and Twenty-First Century Relations (second edition) (Rowman and Littlefield 2020) 978153812655
Cold War in Asia: Maoist China, US Opening, China-US-USSR Relations
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Cold War in Asia: Maoist China, US Opening, China-US-USSR Relations
Introduction
Immediately after the Second World War, nations around the world worked to either recover or benefit from the outcome of the war. Newcomers like the U.S. were more focused on now building upon their entry into the global picture, and old guards like the U.S.S.R were focused on reclaiming their position at the top. Asian nations such as China on the other hand, were laying the groundwork for long term economic and military advancement. The Cold War period highlighted a crucial time for the world, as global superpowers were jostling for a position at the top. This was in terms of both economic, military and technological prowess and in general; global dominance. The competitors at this time did not want to appear like they are left behind in all these facets of nationalism. Historical happenings of the cold war proved to impact the global superpowers in a drastic manner. It was during this period that the United States opened up to Asia and Maoist China was the reality leading to significant historical political and economic dynamics. Throughout this paper, an analysis of the course readings will be done and will provide crucial insights into the historical developments in Asia during the Cold war period.
Maoist China
The Maoist Era was the time between 1949 when Mao Zedong emerged as the founding father of modern China, and 1976 when he died. It was a transformational period for China in every aspect. The class readings shed a lot of light on the development of China from the economic backwaters to what is it today. China is a practical lesson in the fact that proper planning and effective implementation of these plans can lift any country or society from oblivion to prosperity. This was down to an ambitious and futuristic plan by Mao Zedong to turn around the sociopolitical and economic status of China. Mark Borthwick, in his book The Pacific Century gave very interesting insights into the Maoist China ideology and the impact it had on the politics of China. According to Borthwick, the communist revolution in China marked the turning point of China, and the beginning of modern history in Asia. With the development of the nation’s socioeconomic and political structure came the realization that for it to be a dominant power in Asia and by extension the world, there was need to limit the influence of the U.S.A across the region. While America was more focused on spreading a capitalist approach across Asia and the world, China was a typically communist state. These two ideologies were on a collision course.[Charles Holcombe, A History of East Asia (second edition) Cambridge University Press, 2017] [Borthwick, M. (2018). Pacific Century: The emergence of modern Pacific Asia. Routledge.]
The Maoist theory purported that the establishment of communist policies in the region ultimately would cause a drift in USA influence in the region. The establishment of the communist party in 1949 caused a shift in governance policies in the country. Throughout Mao Zedong’s governance style, mass mobilization and a fever of revolution were the constant norm at the time. To some people, Mao was a great hero that brought modern China, brought unity into the country and established China as a world power. All these developments came at the cost of increased fear and radicalization, and this cemented the communist party even further. The success of communism in China gave the country the much needed belief that the same can be successful elsewhere too, and particularly in Asia.
Countries like Vietnam, North Korea, Laos and Cambodia were seen as the likely targets. China started supporting various communist movements across Asia and the Korean War, which signaled to the world superpowers that a developing country like China would be a global superpower. At this moment, the US started considering it as a threat. Indeed, during the Maoist China era, China proved the Chinese army was worth being taken seriously after its engagement in the Korean War. By the time Mao died, there were the seeds planted in China that would transform into a world power with great influence in the United Nations and a world power, nuclear power and had worldwide cultural influence.
USA...