Political Science Quiz 10/29

Glasnost and perestroika

Glasnost- a relaxation of media control and censorship

Perestroika- restructuring of the economy to include some small businesses and privately owned companies

Russian Duma

Two houses (state Duma and Federation Council)

Marx

Proletariat will inevitably overthrow the burgeoisie

To change political institutions, you have to start by changing the base

Germany or UK were most likely to be teh home of a Marxist revolution

John Hobson

“The flag follows business” and “the sun never sets on the Union Jack” because of the massive British empire. Overproduction and underconsumption is what causes imperialism

Totalitarianism

When the state attempts to control virtually all aspects of society including commerce, military, communication, and expression, with the goal of transforming society in line with some ideology

Characteristics of a Leninist state:

Politburo has ultimate authority and power

Leadership could expel party. members who disagree with leadership

Forming factions within the party is treasonous

Purging of party m embers to squelch dissent

Vanguard state

Was the first state to undergo a Marxist revolution, motivating some to believe that it is now their duty to spread communism and promote revolution throughout the world

Path dependance

Refers to the idea that the longer a country stays on a path towards democracy or autocracy, the harder it will be to change paths

Yeltsin’s 4 fatal mistakes

Not getting rid of the KGB

Appointing Putin as PM

Dissolving the Russian congress

A deal with the oligarchs where he allowed them to gain shares in state-owned companies

Parastatl

State-owned company that is common in Russia and China

Shock therapy

Pushes to reform the Russian economic system to include privately-owned companies following the collapse of the soviet union. He sold companies to people who became billionaires overnight

Siloviki

A term used in Russia to refer to people in government who have a background in the security sector

Asymmetric federalism

Constitutional relationship between the central government and the states are different. Not all states have the same rights and liberties

Polarity

The number of “great powers” there are in the world

Unipolarity- one power system (does not last for very long)

Bipolarity- Two powers (considered to be stable)

Opium Wars

East India Company began to flood opium from India into China. Chinese government obviously pushed back against this which led to the opium wars

Boxer Rebellion (1900)

People fought with martial arts in an attempt to drive out foreigners. This rebellion was put down and the Chinese were again humiliated

Sino-Japanese War

China is routed by japan which is embarassing because Japan is seen as inferior to the Chinese

R*pe of Nanjing

Japan invades Manchuria and nearly 300,000 soldiers are killed and over 20,000 women are r*ped

Reasons for communist popularity

Distributed land to peasents

Declared women equal

Promoted education (especially for children)
Promised a glorious revival of Chinese culture

Unified the country

Collectivization

Refers to farmers who lived in a commune, not personal houses. This was associated with the land reform movement.

Cultural revolution

Intended to reassert communist ideals and purge capitalist or bureaucratic ideals from society. Led to widespread informing and indoctrination of Mao ideals

Maoism

The idea that you don’t need workers to have a revolution like traditional Marxism, because peasants can act in the same way.

Chinese demographic issues

One child only policy

Son preference common throughout much of Asia
Female feticide (abortion of the female fetus)

Queue theory

Men of marriagable age are basically in a line that keeps growing longer because there are less and less women

China in 1949

Mao’s communist forces defeated Chang Kai Shek’s nationalist troops, thus establishing a communist regime in Beijing. However, Shek’s regime was relocated to Taiwan and still received backing from the US government.

Great Leap Forward

Launched in 1958, Mao promised a better future for the Chinese. People built reservoirs and worked the fields. They were also required to make steal in order to catch up to the US. Led to the starvation of at least 30 million people

Flowers Bloom Campaign

Encouraged people to criticize the government and speak up similar to glasnost

Anti-rightist movement

A direct response to the hundred flowers campaign where Mao purged nearly everyone who spoke out and victims were transported to prison camps or faced serve penalties

Princelings

Children of senior party leadership who completed the Long March to Beijing at the very beginning of Mao’s regime

Bloodline theory

A sense that princelings are more legitimate rulers of China and more committed to the Party than the average citizen

Revisionist power

A country that seeks to change international order because they are unhappy with what they are gaining from their current situation

Belt and road initiative

Investment that China is making all over the world, including infrastructure such as rail lines

Thucydides Trap

Rise of Athens and the fear this caused in Sparta was the reason for Peloponnesian War

Middle income trap

Refers to a certain income level that China struggles to overcome

Confucius institutes

Promote China and Chinese culture across the globe. They use soft power to promote their entertainment, food, and ideology.