paper 2 - cuba/japan authoritarian states

economic weaknesses in japan

• impacted by great depression; were able to bounce back quickly but were VERY based on exports, needed to be an autarky (yen bloc)

• widespread poverty in agricultural areas

• dominated by zaibatsu

economic weaknesses in cuba

• dependent on sugar, most of their exports

• economically VERY dependent on the US

• large wealth disparity between elites/impoverished cubans

• large unemployement/underemployment

political weaknesses in japan

• weakness of taisho democracy; frequent cabinet changes; parties were corrupt

• military had huge autonomy + influence; direct access to emperor

• communists executed (peace preservation law 1925)

• 1936 feb incident; demands for ‘showa restoration’

political weaknesses in cuba

• platt amendment (1903); us given favourable political terms over cuba

• corruption under batista; suspended constitution in 1952 following coup and ruled as dictator

• weak opposition parties

• repression of civil society like unions and student groups

social divide in japan

• divide between the rural/urban areas (industrialisation vs poverty)

• militarist culture; traditional values glorifying war

• PPL; suppression of communists

• growth in amount of right-wing parties

• divisions between japanese vs other asians

social divide in cuba

• rural poverty; highlighted by castro’s moncada barrack’s speech (1953)

• black cubans/mullatos faced discrimination

• exploitative labor conditions

• government ties to the mafia + foreign corporations; aliented society

impact of war on japan

• russo-japanese war (1904-1905) boosted nationalism + militarism

• WW1; gained german colonies in asia, felt snubed at PPC

• manchurian crisis (1931); military staged explosion without government approval, showed military could act independently

• second sino-japanese war (1937-45); framed as a war to liberate asia from western imperialism

impact of war on cuba

• cuban revolution (1953-59); armed struggle against batista’s regime; moncada barracks attack + sierra maestra campaign mobilised support

• batista’s militarized repression; use of torture/censorship

• castro used revolution to legitimize his authority

use of legal methods in japan

• manipulation of meiji consitiution (1889), giving extensive power to the emperor which was exploited by militarists

• use of PPL; criminalisation of communism

• national mobilization law (1938), full government control over labour/press/economy

• legal conscription

use of legal methods in cuba

• castro suspending 1940 constitution; set up trials to prosecute former batista officials

• fundamental law of the republic (1959); legislative power to the executive; legal basis for land reform/censorship

• by 1976; cuban communist party (PCC) leading force of society

use of force in japan

• army autonomy; cabinets collapsed that opposed military policies

• political assassinations; zhang zuolin, february 26 1936

• military police used to arrest/torture/execute dissenters (communists/liberals)

• education + youth programs promoting obedience, loyalty to emperor, indoctrination to ‘like’ military

use of force in cuba

• armed revolution as basis of power

• purge of opposition (revolutionary tribunals; trials against batista supporters)

• creation of committees for the defence of the revolution (CDRs); monitor neighbourhoods

• use of paramilitary groups to break up protests; harsh prison conditions

• labour camps

charismatic leadership in japan

• not based on one leader; authoritarianism was surrounding the military

• military leaders = nationalist heroes

• collective charisma; propoganda emphasised devotion to the cause; focused on japanese values (100 million hearts)

charismatic leadership in cuba

• fidel castro; revolutionary icon; moncada speech (history will absolve me); man of the people

• use of mass speeches + direct appeal; connected with cubans; morally superior to batista’s corruption

• image as a guerilla leader; powerful revolutionary aesthetic; with vs above

• global revolutionary appeal; admired across LATAM

propaganda in japan

• state-controlled media; centralised political messaging “national unity”; press/radio controlled by military

• school textbooks rewritten; youth taught bushido code + prepared for military service from young age

• yamato soul; 100 million hearts

• war propaganda; glorified conquests in manchuria/china; GEACPS

propaganda in cuba

• press/radio/tv nationalised by 1960 (eg rebel radio); revolutionary ideology disseminated

• mass communication by castro himself; televised speeches

• literacy campaigns to spread revolutionary values to rural populations

• art glorifying revolution

• blocked foreign media

nature/extent/treatment of opposition in japan

• N&E

  • limited organized opposition

  • left wing groups (JCP) seen as threats to national unity

  • civilian politicians resisting military dominance = faced threats

• T

  • PPL (1925; expanded in 1928)

  • purges and suppression; silenced civilian voiced through intimidation + censorship

  • military police enforcing ideological conformity

nature/extent/treatment of opposition in cuba

• N&E

  • batista supporters and exiles

  • dissident intellectuals; middle class professionals; catholic church; HR activists

  • US-backed insurgents (bay of pigs 1961)

• T

  • harsh repression of political dissent (revolutionary tribunals)

  • CDRs monitoring citizens for anti-revolutionary rhetoric

  • censorship & exiles

  • escambray rebellion brutal treatment

successes/failures of foreign policy in japan

• successes

  • invasion of manchuria (1931); creation of manchukuo

  • second sino-japanese war (1937-45) rallied public around nationalist/anti-chinese sentiment

  • withdrawal from LoN (1933)

• failures

  • attack on pearl harbor (1941); entry into WW2

  • defeats in pacific

  • by 1945; total military failure

  • hiroshima/nagasaki (1945); foreign occupation by US

successes/failures of foreign policy in cuba

• successes

  • anti-imperialist stance against the US; bay of pigs (propaganda win for castro)

  • CMC; protection + castro as major cold war figure; domestic support + anti-american

  • global revolutionary support

• failures

  • dependence on the USSR; cuba vulnerable; 1980s economic difficulties (special period)

  • isolation from the US (embargos)

aims/impacts of economic policies in japan

• aims

  • economic self-sufficiency (autarky); reduce western dependence

  • support military expansion; reorganised economy to prioritize war

  • control over industrial output; collab between gov and zaibatsu

• impact

  • short-term growth in military-industrial capacity

  • expansionism; unsustainable costs

  • economic collapse by 1945

  • us oil embargo (1941); crippled war economy; push towards pearl harbour

aims/impacts of economic policies in cuba

• aims

  • centrally planned sociolist economy; nationalise industries; abolish private property; redistribute wealth

  • diversify economy; reduce dependency on sugar

  • free healthcare, education, housing

• impact

  • gains in literacy/healthcare/housing

  • agricultural diversification failed; 10 million tons harvest (1970)

  • reliance on soviet subsidies; collapse of USSR = economic crisis in cuba

aims/impacts of political policies in japan

• aims

  • strengthen centralized, militarist control; undermine party politics + civilian government; elevate loyalty to emperor

  • eliminate democratic/leftist influence

  • unify society under totalitarian nationalism

• impacts

  • weakening of parliamentary democracy

  • establishment of one-party military state; 1940 = all other parties dissolved

  • PPL + thought police suppressed dissent

aims/impacts of political policies in cuba

• aims

  • one-party marxist-leninist state; central power in fidel castro’s hands

  • strengthen revolutionary legitimacy through CDRs

  • ensure ideological control over aspects of life

• impact

  • one-party authitarian state; fidel castro holding multiple roles

  • repression of opposition

  • political stability + durability of authoritarian regime

aims/impacts of cultural policies in japan

• aims

  • promote ultranationalist/militarist values; emphasis on yamato soul

  • control education/media to indoctrinate youth; shape national identity around imperial/military ideals

  • cultural unification; assimilating occupied peoples (koreans/taiwanese) into japanese language + culture

• impact

  • militarization of education and society; emperor central in schools

  • censorship/suppression of dissenting culture

  • colonial cultural policies bred resentment in korea and taiwan

aims/impacts of cultural policies in cuba

• aims

  • create revolutionary, socialist national culture; promotion of anti-imperialist ideals

  • use art/education as tools for ideological indoctrination

  • control over artistic expression

• impact

  • expansion of access to culture/literacy; literacy campaign (1961) made reading/education widely accessible

  • censorship/exile of critical artists (eg. reinaldo arenas)

  • creation of a revolutionary cultural identity

aims/impacts of social policies in japan

• aims

  • promote ultranationalist/militarist values/loyalty to the state

  • control the role of women/youth; women were to produce future soldiers; youth indoctrinated with patriotic militarist ideology

  • ensure social conformity/discipline

• impact

  • education system became tool of indoctrination; imperial rescript on education; physical training/military drills

  • restricted social mobility/gender roles

  • war strain worsened social conditions; hiroshima/nagasaki

aims/impacts of social policies in cuba

• aims

  • create a classless, egalitarian society

  • eliminate wealth disparities through free healthcare/education

  • uplift marginalised groups

  • promote gender equality/worker participation; integrate women into public life

• impact

  • major improvements in education/healthcare; raised literacy levels from 78% in 1953 to 99.8% in 2014

  • vaccination programme (1962) eradicated polio/malaria

  • women gained formal rights, but limits remained; FMC organisation promoted gender inclusion; many women remained in traditional domestic roles

impact of policies on women in japan

• policies/aims

  • women to be traditionally obedient wives/mothers

  • education focused on home economics and child-rearing

• impacts

  • limited rights/autonomy; women discouraged from political participation; legally subordinate to men in family/society

  • during war; women worked in factories, but out of need, not as a broader gender equality effort

  • “comfort women”; wartime sexual slavery; women from korea/china/other territories forced into sexual slavery

impact of policies on women in cuba

• policies/aims

  • promote gender equality as revolutionary goal

  • encourage women’s participation in workforce/education/politics

  • supported by creation of the FMC in 1960

• impacts

  • improved access to education/healthcare; one of the lowest maternal mortality roles

  • greater workforce participation; medicine/teaching professions

  • state-supported childcare; enabled dual roles; domestic burdens persisted

  • limited political representation

  • persistent patriarchy

impact of policies on minorities in japan

• policies/aims

  • ethnic homogeneity; superiorty of yamato japanese

  • cultural assimilation policies in colonies (japanization)

  • suppression of minorty languages/identities

• impacts (on koreans/chinese/others)

  • cultural erasure/forced assimilation; koreans adopted japanese names; korean language/history/culture banned in schools

  • discrimination; koreans/chinese forced into labour + military service

  • racial ideology justified brutality

impact of policies on minorities in cuba

• policies/aims

  • eliminate racial/class inequality through socialism

  • promote revolutionary unity over identity politics

  • officially ‘raceless’ society

• impacts (on afro-cubans)

  • early improvements in access; education/healthcare/emloyment opportunities increased; many gained from wealth redistribution

  • erasure of racial discourse; under-addressed racism; institutional racism persisted in tourism/housing/party representation

• impacts (on queer cubans)

  • state repression during early decades; homosexuality viewed as a sin; labour camps for reeducation in 60s

  • gradual liberalisation post-1990s; public health campaigns during HIV/AIDS crisis

universal male suffrage

• japan

• 1925

• all male japanese citizens given the right to vote over 25 years old

washington naval conference

• 1921-1922

• four-power pact; us, uk, japan, france; confer on issues with the pacific; respect each other’s colonies

• five-power naval limitation treaty; us, uk, japan, france, italy; arms limitation treaty; set naval ratios

• japan accepted naval limitations as part of shidehara diplomacy

kellogg-briand pact

• 1928

• japan signed agreement renouncing war as national policy

• largely symbolic; violated with manchurian invation (1931)

peace preservation law

• 1925

• criminalised attempts to alter the imperial state structure

• targeted communists/socialists/liberals

new women’s association

• 1919

• early feminist group pushing for legal reform/social equality

• limited impact due to patriarchal state

shidehara diplomacy

• 1920s

• foreign policy under PM shidehara

• international cooperation, economic diplomacy, non-interventionism

rice riots

• 1918

• massive urban and rural protests over soaring rice prices

• showed economic inequality

• signaled instability

london naval conference

• 1930

• revised naval ratios

• japan secured parity in some; but less than hoped

• seen as betrayal by army/navy = assassination of PM hamaguchi 1931

mukden incident/manchurian crisis

• 1931

• kwantung army stages railway bombing to justify invading manchuria

• civilian gov lacked control, end of party government

• led to manchukuo

‘showa restoration’ idea

• 1930s

• ultranationalist movement calling for return to emperor-centered rule

• rejected party politics; glorified militarism/traditional values

• ideological basis for 1936 feb 26

national defense state

• 1930s

• vision of total militarized economy and society undet state control

• civilian resources mobilized for war

yen bloc

• 1930s

• japan’s reponse to western trade barriers during the great depression

• economic zone of self-sufficiency; including manchuria, korea, taiwan etc

rural poverty in japan

• 1920s-30s

• rice prices collapsed; farmers faced debt and starvation

• life in the military better; many young rural men joined military

greater east asia co-prosperity sphere

• announced 1940

• japan’s imperial propaganda for pan-asian unity free from western colonialism

• in practice; imperialist control + economic exploitation of asia by japan

• used to justify conquest of china, southeast asia, forced labour systems

yamamoto plan

• military strategy for preemptive strike against the us to secure pacific dominance

• led to 1941 pearl harbour attack

pearl harbour

• 7 december 1941

• surprise air/naval attack by japan on us pacific fleet in hawaii

• brought us into WW2, beginning of pacific war

• japanese goal; delay us interference while seizing southeast asia

conquest of singapore

• february 1942

• major japanese victory over british forces

• led to mass surrender of british troops; symbolised japanese military superiority in asia

the pacific war

• 1941-1945

• war between japan and allied powers in the pacific theater

• brutal campaigns; ended with atomic bombs

• followed by us occupation of japan

second sino-japanese war

• 1937-1945

• japan’s brutal invasion and occupation of china

• atrocities like the nanjing massacre

sanpo

• industrial patriotic service associations

• state-run labour organizations under military control

• replaced independent unions, workers mobilized for war effort

february 26 incident

• febraury 26 1936

• beginning of japan’s authoritarianism

• attempted coup by imperial way faction

• emperor sides with control faction; control faction becomes military authoritarian leader

fulgencio batista

• ruled cuba as president (1940-44) and dictator (1952-59)

• pro us, corrupt, authoritarian

• overthrown by 1959 revolution

fidel castro

• leader of cuban revolution, PM/president from 1959

• established a communist one-party state aligned with USSR

oriente

• poor, rural, eastern province of cuba

• stronghold of revolutionary support; sierra maestra campaign

orthodoxos

• partido ortodoxo

• reformist, anti-corruption party

• castro was a young member; lead castro to pursue armed revolution

attack on moncada barracks

• 26 july 1953

• failed assault on army base in santiago de cuba

• led by castro + ~160 rebels; many captured or killed

• start of 26 july movement = history will absolve me

herbert l matthews interview

• 1957

• NYT interview with castro in sierra maestra

• portrayed castro as a liberator, not communist

• boosted castro’s international profile and credibility

moncada programme

• castro’s moderate reformist manifesto

• called for land reform, industrialization, education, end to corruption

• helped gain support from liberals and moderates

26 july movement

• revolutionary group founded by castro

• used guerrilla warfare to fight batista

• became ruiling party after revolution

santiago uprising

• 1956

• coordinated revolt to support granma (ship) landing

• crushed by batista forces

• rebels fled to sierra maestra mountains

sierra maestra campaign

• 1956-59

• prolonged guerrilla war from mountain base in oriente

• build support among peasants, gained fighters/resources

huber matos

• revolutionary commander turned critic of communist direction

• resigned in 1959, arrested for ‘treason’, sentenced to 20 years

• example of zero tolerance for dissent in castro’s regime

president urrutia

• 1959

• appointed by castro post revolution'; moderate liberal

• clashed with castro over communist policies; forced to resign

escambray rebellion

• 1959-1965

• anti-castro uprising in central escambray mountains

• led by formed revolutionaries, farmers, ex batista supporters

• brutally supressed by castro

bay of pigs invasion

• 1961

• failed us backed landing by cuban exiles

• embarrassment for us; boosted castro’s image; pushed cuba to USSR

cuban missile crisis

• october 1962

• ussr placed nuclear missiles in cuba; us blockade

• closest moment to nuclear war in cold war

• ended with us-soviet deal; castro sidelined

us embargo on cuba

• 1960-present

• trade embargo after nationalisation of us companies

• deepened economic hardship but strengthened regime’s nationalist rhetoric

• central to cuba-us hostility during cold war