THE COLD WAR IN ASIA
§
STRATEGIC PICTURE
MARKED BY BIPOLAR (US-USSR) ORDER, BALANCE OF POWER, AND COMPETITION FOR
INFLUENCE.
§
PROMINENCE OF
IDEOLOGY IN REGIONAL RELATIONS AND DOMESTIC POLITICS. ECONOMIC GROWTH AND
COOPERATION, AND NATIONALISM, SUBORDINATED TO POLITICAL LOYALTY TO MAJOR
POWERS.
§
MILITARY POWER
(HENCE, GEOPOLITICS AND BILATERAL RELATIONSHIPS) CONSIDERED THE KEY TO
SECURITY.
§
ABSENCE OF
IMPORTANT REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS.
§
LOCAL WARS,
INTERVENTIONS (“CONTAINMENT”), AND REVOLUTIONS OCCUR FREQUENTLY. USE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS A DISTINCT
POSSIBILITY.
§
AUTHORITARIAN
GOVERNMENTS THE NORM, DEMOCRATIZATION THE EXCEPTION.
§
CHINA AND JAPAN
LARGELY UNINVOLVED IN REGIONAL AFFAIRS.
PRC NOT A FACTOR IN REGIONAL OR GLOBAL ECONOMY OR GLOBAL INSTITUTIONS.
§
ECONOMIC TAKEOFF
OF ASIAN NIEs (S.KOREA, TAIWAN, HONG KONG, SINGAPORE)
BEGINS IN 1980s.