Communism in the USSR and China

Paper Summary:

The paper explores the factors which led to the different developments of the two most important communist powers of the Cold War, China and the USSR. The paper looks at how the communist ideology came to be implemented in both states and shows how the role of the national identity of the people was clearly underestimated by the soviets, while the Chinese managed to cater to the nationalistic needs of its people. The paper also discusses the lack of a strong connection between the Soviet led bloc of states while the Chinese used Confucianism that allowed people to identify their nation and their leader with a perennial system of thought.

From the Paper:

"The 20th century saw some of the most interesting political evolutions in the history of humanity. Throughout the one hundred years, the world lived the disastrous experience of the total war, it came to realize the power of the atomic bomb, but, most importantly it went through what came to be labeled as a "cold war", a political confrontation between two ideological systems, whose proponents, the US and the USSR never came in direct and face off contact. However, along these historical lines, the event that drew the most attention, due in part to its recent developments and its effects that are visible to this day was the unexpected yet imminent fall of communism in the USSR."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Calvocoressi, Peter. World politics since 1945. New York: Longman, 1987.
• Daniels, Robert V., ed. A Documentary History of Communism. New York: Random House, 1960.
• Hobsbawm, Eric. The Age of extremes. New York: Vintage, 1996.
• Hsiung, James Chieh. Ideology and Practice: The Evolution of Chinese Communism. New York: Praeger, 1970.
• Justin Little John. "China and Communism". International Affairs. Royal Institute of International Affairs. Vol. 27, No. 2. Apr., 1951. pp. 137-150. 9 November 2007 http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0020-5850%28195104%2927%3A2%3C137%3ACAC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-0

More papers on Communism in the USSR and China:

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• Research Paper # 27954 : "Mongolia and the U.S.S.R."

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