Term Paper on "East Asia and the Socialist Experience"

Term Paper 6 pages (1995 words) Sources: 4 Style: Chicago

[EXCERPT] . . . .

East Asia and the Socialist Experience

The history of Asia can be considered to be one of the most controversial, dynamic, and interesting segments of the history of our civilization. This is largely due to the fact that the region experienced along the centuries several influences in terms of political, economic, and social aspects. However, one of the most important ideas related to the evolution of the area is the communist influence which developed as part of the political environment in the region.

One of the most relevant examples in this sense is China and its neighbor Mongolia. Both of them experienced the communist trend it its strongest aspects; however, following the end of the Cold War, the situation in both countries evolved towards a different type of socialism, one which is to a certain extent adapted to the current realities of political and economic globalization. Yet, despite the changes that took place as a result of the fall of the U.S.S.R., there are still obvious signs of socialist rule, still one adapted to the modernity of our time; therefore, both Mongolia and China are experiencing socialist modernity.

The history of the communist element in the region is related to the Chinese model of the notion. Indeed, China is considered to be one of the most important sources of communist in part due to the fact that its approach is different from that of the Russian side. Still, the Mongolian state is considered to have been shaped after the Soviet standards. This aspect is obvious from the point-of-view of the situation following the end of the Cold War. Thus, "Mongolia in 1989 was a communist state modeled on Soviet political and government institutions. The government was a one party system, presided over by the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party. The party exercised political supervision and control over a pyramidal structure of representative governmental bodies known as hurals -- assemblies of people's deputies" (Worden and Savada, 1989) Therefore it can be said that as states tried to recover from communism, the differences between the the Western perspective and the communist realities in such regions became more and more visible.

The situation in China at the end of the Cold War can be seen as the result of a strategic consideration of the new emerging world order. In this sense, the Chinese government acknowledged the fact that there would no longer be a struggle for power and for economic growth in the terms of the bipolar world which ended in 1989; it would rather entangle a different perspective on world politics. In this sense, "the end of the cold war has changed China's basic perception of world politics and its conception of national security. (...) When the Soviet Empire and the East European communist regimes collapsed, the structure of the postwar international system dissolved, and the old parameters for Beijing's security strategy disappeared. The Chinese leadership suddenly found itself in a totally new world in which China needed to reorient and redefine its security strategy on a new strategic axis" (Hu, 1995). Therefore, it can be said that China was aware of the necessity to change some aspects of its foreign as well as internal policy issues in order to maintain its place in the world.

The issue of socialist modernity can be said to be a rather abstract notion. Although there are areas of study which can determine the precise meaning of the term, it can also be interpreted as a new starting point for the modernization and development of a country or for the reconsideration of a political approach. Therefore, modernity often implies an evolution; still, at the political level or at the level of Cultural Revolution, this can be seen as an irreversible and unstoppable process. More precisely, "modernization is not a life project we have chosen to adopt; it is more like something of fatality or unquestionable destiny we must submit ourselves to (...) social life still seems to have the same objective: modernization, that is to say self-improvement by making progress on the lien of the production techniques, social organization and political management that began to take shape in Europe during the sixteenth century" (Echeverria, n.d) Therefore, the process of modernization is inevitable.

The socialist influence has been an important factor in determining the evolution of the two regimes in Mongolia and China and the state apparatuses cannot and have no will in this sense to change to a form of capitalist line of thought. There are numerous state infrastructures that work according to a system that cannot be changed nor is there an incentive to do so. Therefore, it can be said that the notion of socialist modernity characterizes best the two political entities. This is obvious from a political and economic point-of-view.

The Mongolian political framework is seen as one following a reconsideration of democratic principles. In this sense, free elections are being conducted since 1990. The elections are considered to be free and in accordance with the principles and criteria of international observers sent to overview the process. More precisely, the United States considers that "Mongolia continued its transition from a highly centralized, Communist-led state to a full-fledged, multiparty, parliamentary democracy, although these gains still must be consolidated" (U.S. State Dept., 2001) Despite the rudimentary of the political situation in the country, the leadership became aware of the fact that action must be taken in order to improve the road towards democracy and the social situation in Mongolia. Thus, the president is being elected through universal suffrage and there is a clear distinction between the powers and attributions of the state.

In relation to the Chinese example, it did not follow on similar lines the example of Mongolian state. More precisely, it can be a matter of establishing national priorities. Thus, indeed, the Chinese government and leadership is well aware of the fact that a certain sense of democratic rule must come into effect. However, the fact that from an economic point-of-view the Chinese are not completely dependent on the Western world to improve its political situation, there is a much more limited desire to offer signs of democracy. In this sense, the rule of Ho Jintao is based on the idea of strengthening the central government rather than making changes to such an extent as to cater for the needs of the population above all. In this sense, before the elections of 2007 "the Chinese leader is also fast consolidating domestic power in China in the lead-up to the shiqida (17th Party Congress) in autumn 2007. He was handed authority in the Party and Administration at the 16th Party Congress in 2002, but only obtained the chairmanship of the critical Party Central Military Commission (CMC) in 2004. These "three powers" should be confirmed at the 17th Party Congress next year, making him the undisputed leader of the "fourth generation." (Teo, 2006) Therefore it appears quite clear the fact that China is by no means on the same path as the Mongolian state.

There are several differences related to the political aspects. Thus, on the one hand there is the matter of the party system. While Mongolia has 20 parties, China lacks a pluralist political scene. This aspect can be considered to be important because political plurality is the representative of a different type of system. Thus, while Mongolia is indeed on the way to democratization, China lacks the basic instruments to achieve this. On the other hand, the president of the state plays a major role in the entire political structure. However, in Mongolia he is designated through a relatively democratic process in China he is elected by the Communist Party. The system of the sole political party is yet another major issue for distress in China because there can be no plurality of opinions inside a society that is run by a central government.

All these aspects tend to manifest, more or less, at the economic level. Form this point-of-view however, both states are still conducting a socialist attitude. While Mongolia is more opened to different ideas for improvement, China is still one of the most traditional countries of the world, despite the fact that they have one of the strongest economies at the moment.

Mongolia realized the importance of the market economy and has acted accordingly. Several discussions have been started related to the aspect of modernizing the economy. In this sense, they adopted the idea of privatizations. Thus, the president of the country affirmed that "As a result of the consistent privatization policy, today more than 80 per cent of the GDP of Mongolia is produced by the private sector. The privatization of the major valuable enterprises has also been successfully conducted over the past years. One may say that the politics of the country have been relatively stable. Along with this, economic growth has increased and the main indicators have steadily improved. GDP growth stood at 8.4 per cent in 2006 compared to the previous year. In 2004 the growth… READ MORE

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