Perspectives on Sergey Radchenko's Two Suns in the Heavens

2012 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Sheng ◽  
Qiang Zhai ◽  
Deborah Kaple
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Chinese Foreign Policy ◽  
Woodrow Wilson ◽  
Realist Approach ◽  
The Soviet Union

In this forum, three leading experts on Sino-Soviet relations and Mao Zedong's policy toward the Soviet Union offer their appraisals of Sergey Radchenko's Two Suns in the Heavens, The Sino-Soviet Struggle for Supremacy, 1962–1967, published by the Woodrow Wilson Center Press. The commentators praise many aspects of Radchenko's book, but Michael Sheng and to a lesser extent Qiang Zhai and Deborah Kaple wonder whether Radchenko has gone too far in downplaying the role of ideology in Mao's foreign policy. Unlike Lorenz Lüthi, who gives decisive weight to ideology in his own book about the Sino-Soviet split, Radchenko argues that a classical realist approach is the best framework for understanding Chinese foreign policy and the rift between China and the Soviet Union. Sheng and Zhai also raise questions about some of the sources used by Radchenko. Replying to the commentaries, Radchenko defends his conception of Mao's foreign policy, arguing that it is a more nuanced view than Sheng and Zhai imply. Radchenko also stresses the inherent shortcomings of the source base scholars are forced to use when analyzing Chinese foreign policy.

Reply to the Commentaries

2012 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-110
Author(s):  
Sergey Radchenko
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Chinese Foreign Policy ◽  
Woodrow Wilson ◽  
Realist Approach ◽  
The Soviet Union

In this forum, three leading experts on Sino-Soviet relations and Mao Zedong's policy toward the Soviet Union offer their appraisals of Sergey Radchenko's Two Suns in the Heavens, The Sino-Soviet Struggle for Supremacy, 1962–1967, published by the Woodrow Wilson Center Press. The commentators praise many aspects of Radchenko's book, but Michael Sheng and to a lesser extent Qiang Zhai and Deborah Kaple wonder whether Radchenko has gone too far in downplaying the role of ideology in Mao's foreign policy. Unlike Lorenz Lüthi, who gives decisive weight to ideology in his own book about the Sino-Soviet split, Radchenko argues that a classical realist approach is the best framework for understanding Chinese foreign policy and the rift between China and the Soviet Union. Sheng and Zhai also raise questions about some of the sources used by Radchenko. Replying to the commentaries, Radchenko defends his conception of Mao's foreign policy, arguing that it is a more nuanced view than Sheng and Zhai imply. Radchenko also stresses the inherent shortcomings of the source base scholars are forced to use when analyzing Chinese foreign policy.

FORUM: Mao, Khrushchev, and China's Split with the USSR: Perspectives on The Sino-Soviet Split

2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priscilla Roberts ◽  
Steven I. Levine ◽  
Péter Vámos ◽  
Deborah Kaple ◽  
Jeremy Friedman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Chinese Foreign Policy ◽  
People's Republic Of China ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Princeton University ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Short Time

This forum includes six commentaries on Lorenz M. Lüthi's book The Sino-Soviet Split: Cold War in the Communist World, published by Princeton University Press in 2008. Drawing on recently declassified documents and memoirs from numerous countries, Lüthi explains how and why the close alliance between the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China fell apart in a remarkably short time, dissolving into fierce mutual enmity. Amassing a wealth of evidence, Lüthi stresses the role of ideology in the split, lending support to the arguments put forth nearly five decades ago by analysts like Donald Zagoria in his pioneering book on the Sino-Soviet rift. Six leading experts on Chinese foreign policy and Sino-Soviet relations discuss the strengths of Lüthi's book but also raise questions about some interpretations and omissions. The forum includes Lüthi's reply to the commentaries.

scholarly journals Russia’s Foreign Policy Evolution in the New Balkan Landscape

2020 ◽  
Vol 56 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 179-199
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Entina ◽  
Alexander Pivovarenko
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
Southeast Europe ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
The Difference

The article reflects on the issue of the foreign policy strategy of modern Russia in the Balkans region. One of the most significant aspects of this problem is the difference in views between Russia and the West. Authors show how different interpretations of the events in former Yugoslavia in the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s predetermined the sense of mutual suspicion and mistrust which spread to other regions such as the post-Soviet space. Exploring differences between the Russian and the Western (Euro-Atlantic) views on the current matters, authors draw attention to fundamental differences in terminology: while the Western narrative promotes more narrow geographical and political definitions (such as the Western Balkan Six), traditional Russian experts are more inclined to wider or integral definitions such as “the Balkans” and “Central and Southeast Europe”. Meanwhile none of these terms are applicable for analysis of the current trends such as the growing transit role of the Balkans region and its embedding in the European regional security architecture. Therefore, a new definition is needed to overcome the differences in vision and better understand significant recent developments in the region. Conceptualizing major foreign policy events in Central and Southeast Europe during the last three decades (the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s), authors demonstrate the significance of differences in tools and methods between the Soviet Union and the modern Russia. Permanent need for adaptation to changing political and security context led to inconsistence in Russian Balkan policy in the 1990s. Nevertheless, Russia was able to preserve an integral vision of the region and even to elaborate new transregional constructive projects, which in right political circumstances may promote stability and become beneficial for both Russia and the Euro-Atlantic community.

Laying Blame for Flight and Fight: Sino-Soviet Relations and the “Yi–Ta” Incident in Xinjiang, 1962

2019 ◽  
Vol 238 ◽  
pp. 504-523
Author(s):  
Charles Kraus
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Chinese Foreign Policy ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Northern Xinjiang ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Major Flare ◽  
Party State

AbstractIn spring 1962, 60,000 individuals fled from northern Xinjiang into the Soviet Union. Known as the “Yi–Ta” incident, the mass exodus sparked a major flare up in Sino-Soviet relations. This article draws on declassified Chinese and Russian-language archival sources and provides one of the first in-depth interpretations of the event and its aftermath. It argues that although the Chinese government blamed the Soviet Union for the Yi-Ta incident, leaders in Beijing and Xinjiang also recognized the domestic roots of the disturbance, such as serious material deficits in northern Xinjiang and tensions between minority peoples and the party-state. The Chinese government's diplomatic sparring with Moscow over the mass exodus reflected Mao Zedong's continued influence on Chinese foreign policy, despite claims by scholars that Mao had retreated from policymaking during this period.

Incremental Activism in Soviet Third World Policy: The Role of the International Department of the CPSU Central Committee

Slavic Review ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 614-630
Author(s):  
Jan S. Adams
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Control Unit ◽  
Central Committee ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
International Affairs ◽  
Mikhail Gorbachev ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Soviet Foreign Policy

Historically, leaders of the Soviet Union have shown extraordinary faith in the power of bureaucratic reorganization to solve political problems. The 1985-1987 restaffing and restructuring of the foreign policy establishment indicate that Mikhail Gorbachev shares this faith. In the first sixteen months of his leadership, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs replaced its minister, two first deputy ministers, seven deputy ministers, a third of all Soviet ambassadors, and created four new departments. In addition, important changes were made in the central party apparat, affecting three of the CPSU Central Committee departments: The International Information Department was abolished. The Propaganda Department gained added prominence in international affairs with the appointment of a new chief, Aleksandr Iakovlev, who began playing a conspicuous role as Gorbachev's advisor at international conferences even before his elevation to the Politburo in January 1987. Of great significance for the Soviet foreign policy establishment as a whole, the International Department (ID) was given new leadership, a new arms control unit, and expanded missions.

Fenomen parapaństw na obszarze poradzieckim

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-217
Author(s):  
Anna Czyż
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Influence Factors ◽  
External Influence ◽  
Central Thesis ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Military Support ◽  
Sphere Of Influence ◽  
Political Economic

One of the consequences of the collapse of the Soviet Union was the outbreak of several conflicts in the post-Soviet area and the emergence of the so-called para-states. Based on the systemic method of treating parastates as a system, internal and external influence factors will be indicated. The article aims to present the reasons for creating para-states and analyze internal and external determinants, i.e. attributes of their statehood as factors that guarantee their operation and ensure continued survival. In this context, the thesis was made that Russian political, economic, and military support for para-states ensures their functioning. Moreover, the article indicates the role of para-states in the Russian Federation’s foreign policy towards the post- Soviet area, with which the central thesis of the article is related. It says that supporting para-states politically, financially, and militarily is one of the instruments of Russia’s policy towards the post-Soviet area and is intended to keep it within the Russian sphere of influence.

Book Reviews: The Pure Theory of Politics, The Nature and Limits of Political Science, Social Science and Political Theory, in Defence of Politics, The Theory of Political Coalitions, The British Political Elite, Amateurs and Professionals in British Politics, 1918–59, London Government and the Welfare Services, Local Government Today … and Tomorrow, Public Expenditure: Appraisal and Control, The Lessons of Public Enterprise, Nationalization: A Book of Readings, Income Distribution and Social Change, The Northern Ireland Problem: A Study in Group Relations, Report of the Joint Working Party on the Economy of Northern Ireland, Economic Planning in France, The French Army: A Military-Political History, The Trial of Charles De Gaulle, Torture: Cancer of Democracy, Communism and the French Left, Algeria and France: From Colonialism to Cooperation, Der Fascismus in Seiner Epoche, The Soviet Union and the German Question, September 1958–June 1961, Indivisible Germany: Illusion or Reality?, Government and Politics of Contemporary Berlin, The Struggle for Germany, 1914–1945, Reunification and West German-Soviet Relations: The Role of the Reunification Issue in the Foreign Policy of the Federal Republic of Germany, 1949–1957 with Special Attention to Policy toward the Soviet Union, City on Leave: A History of Berlin, 1945–1962, Berlin: Success of a Mission?, Federalism, Bureaucracy, and Party Politics in Western Germany: The Role of the Bundesrat, The Sickle under the Hammer: The Russian Socialist Revolutionaries in the Early Months of Soviet Rule, Political Ideology, Small Town in Mass Society, Government of the Atom: The Integration of Powers, Science and Politics, The Mind of Africa, The Challenge of Africa, Arab Nationalism: An Anthology, Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age 1798–1939, Village Government in India, Politics in Southern Asia, Modern Government, The Making of Foreign Policy: An Analysis of Decision-Making, The Politics of Italian Foreign Policy, Politics in the Twentieth Century, Vol. I: The Decline of Democratic Politics, Vol. II: The Importance of American Foreign Policy, Vol. III: The Restoration of American Politics, Power and the Pursuit of Peace, Unarmed Victory, Great Britain or Little England, The General Says No, The United Nations, The United Nations Reconsidered, World Economic Agencies, Communist Economy under Change, The Communist Foreign Trade System, Trade Blocs and Common Markets, The Economics of Middle Eastern Oil, Oil Companies and Governments

1964 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-140
Author(s):  
George E. Gordon Catlin ◽  
M. C. Albrow ◽  
Graham Wootton ◽  
W. J. M. Mackenzie ◽  
J. Blondel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Public Enterprise ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The United Nations

The Indian Factor in Recent Sino-Soviet Relations

1991 ◽  
Vol 125 ◽  
pp. 55-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Garver
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
South Asia ◽  
The United States ◽  
Chinese Foreign Policy ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
National Power ◽  
The Third World ◽  
Power Central

Chinese foreign policy is typically a complex mix of bilateral, regional and global considerations shaped by the perceptions and domestic political concerns of various participants in China's decision-making process. One significant factor shaping Chinese foreign policy over the past decade which has not been given adequate attention is Chinese consideration of South Asia, and especially India. India's size, substantial aggregate national power, central geographic position in South Asia, prominent role in the Third World/Non-Aligned Movement, and the determination of its leaders to establish India as the pre-eminent power in South Asia, have given India significant weight in Chinese foreign policy calculations. This includes, I will argue, Beijing's calculations regarding China's relations with the Soviet Union and the United States.

scholarly journals La place de la mer Caspienne dans la politique étrangère russe

1970 ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Khagani Guliyev
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Caspian Sea ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Russian Foreign Policy ◽  
The Caspian Sea ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
The 19Th Century

This study focuses on the question of the role of the Caspian Sea at a large scale in the current Russian foreign policy. It is noted that though in the historical perspective the Caspian Sea basin had been totally dominated by Russia since the beginning of the 19th century, this domination was contested and considerably reduced after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Paradoxically, in parallel for various reasons exposed in the paper, the Caspian Sea gained more importance in the Russian foreign policy giving rise to new challenges for the future of the Russian power in the region.

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