Chairman Mao’s Masterplan
Within the antagonism between capitalist and communist ideas in the period of the cold war the Sino-US rapprochement appears as a very out of character phenomenon, culminating in the spectacular visit of president Richard Nixon in 1972, as the first president to enter Chinese Communist soil.
US Missile Defence and Space Security: a Security Dilemma for China?
The Chinese reaction to U.S. BMD and space security policy has emphasized the crucial importance of dialogue and economic engagement. Conscious of history’s rising powers being profoundly threatening and violent, China has been keen to stress its ‘peaceful rise’ as a ‘responsible great power.’
Cultural awareness and counterinsurgency in Afghanistan
The current campaign in Afghanistan has lasted for over nine years and the Taliban has grown into a formidable insurgency. This paper explains why a lack of cultural awareness condemns counterinsurgency operations to almost certain defeat, and explores the implications for the campaign in Afghanistan.
Offense-Defense Theory and the absence of war on the Korean peninsula
This essay argues that the absence of a major war between North (DPRK) and South Korea (ROK) does not disprove the offense-defense theory (ODT) because the theory is capable of explaining the prevalence of peace under conditions when the defense has the advantage.
Can China be Defined as an Authoritarian State?
The People’s Republic of China was formed in 1949 from a country crippled by poverty, internal and external conflict, and has grown into one of today’s economic superpowers. Modern China can be defined as an authoritarian state. However, socialism with Chinese characteristics is a far better way of describing China’s unique system of government and economy
‘Diaspora’? The Case of the Russians of Central Asia
Russians living in Central Asia and Russians returning to the Russian Federation cannot be considered to be diasporas
The Contrasting Sides of the Great Fire Wall
It is clear to see that from a historical cultural point of view that the two nations were built on very different ideological manifestations; liberal capitalism for Hong Kong and authoritarian communism for China. From these differing ideologies come different viewpoints and in turn, differing laws, which further lay the foundations for the differences the two states have.
China’s role in the global political economy
Today we know China as the new form of communism which came about after the death of Mao Zedong in 1976 and the further solidification of Deng Xiaoping as paramount leader of the Chinese communist party. China has come a long way since 1978, growing at more than 20% a year. However, it is still relatively young power in the international arena, lacking the maturity and reputation of America
Uyghur Nationalism and China
How the Uyghur population conceptualises its struggle is vital for the continued existence of the movement. Is the Uyghur movement a drive for human rights? A fight for increased autonomy? Or indeed a full blown separatist insurgency? On the other hand, how the PRC views the ‘Uyghur problem’ will have a direct bearing on the way it handles problems within Xinjiang in the future.
The 1997 Financial Crisis and the East Asia Development Paradigm
The financial collapse of 1997 which led to regional economic meltdown the following year exposed the link between financial sectors and macroeconomic performances of the troubled economies, and hence the revision of development models pursued by those economies. A distinction needs to be drawn between the crisis as the precipitating event or as the source of Asia’s extraordinary vulnerability
