Description
Book SynopsisThe breakup of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991 had significant repercussions on Chinese politics, foreign policy, and other aspects. In this book, Jie Li examines the evolution of Chinese intellectual perceptions of the Soviet Union in the 1980s and 1990s, before and after the collapse. Relying on a larger body of updated Chinese sources, Li re-evaluates many key issues in post-Mao Chinese Sovietology, arguing that the Chinese views on the Soviet Union had been influenced and shaped by the ups-and-downs of Sino-Soviet (and later Sino-Russian) relations, China’s domestic political climate, and the political developments in Moscow. By researching the country of the Soviet Union, Chinese Soviet-watchers did not focus on the USSR alone, but mostly attempted to confirm and legitimize the Chinese state policies of reform and open door in both decades. By examining the Soviet past, Chinese scholars not only demonstrated concern for the survival of the CCP regime, but also attempted to envision the future direction and position of China in the post-communist world.
Table of ContentsList of Tables 1 Introduction 1 Research Background and Post-Mao Chinese Sovietology in Perspective 2 Funding, Academic Freedom, and Writing Style in Chinese Sovietology 3 Literature Review 4 The Chinese State, Ideology, and Chinese Sovietology 5 Methodology, Sources, and the Book Structure PART 1: Analyses of Soviet Foreign Relations 2 Topics in the 1980s: From Soviet Hegemonism to Gorbachev’s New Thinking 1 Analyses of Soviet Hegemonism 2 Treatment of Soviet Relations with Albania, Yugoslavia, and the Third World 3 Changing Views on Gorbachev’s New Thinking 4 Concluding Remarks 3 The 1990s Changing Views on Gorbachev’s Foreign Policy and the Use of Lenin after Tiananmen 1 Chinese Perceptions of Gorbachev across the 1990 Divide 2 Lenin and the Fate of Chinese Socialism after Tiananmen 3 Lenin and the Post-Tiananmen Reform and Open Door Policies 4 Concluding Remarks PART 2: Analyses of Soviet Leaders and Politics 4 The 1980s Chinese Perceptions of Lenin’s Socialism and Gorbachev’s Glasnost 1 The Use of Lenin in Early 1980s China 2 Lenin and Post-Mao Chinese Socialism 3 Glasnost and China 4 Concluding Remarks 5 The Misuse of Gorbachev after Tiananmen and the 1990s Debate about the Two Soviet Leaders 1 Gorbachev and Tiananmen 2 Revival of Research on Brezhnev 3 Re-assessment of Stalin 4 Concluding Remarks PART 3: Analyses of Soviet Nationality Policy 6 Chinese Perceptions of the Nationality Politics of Lenin and Gorbachev 1 Lenin and Post-Mao China’s Nationality Administration 2 Lenin’s Attraction for China 3 Chinese Perceptions of Gorbachev’s Nationality Policy 4 Concluding Remarks 7 The Post-1991 Learning 1 The Issue of the Economy 2 The Issue of Religion 3 The Issue of the Federal System and National Cohesiveness 4 Concluding Remarks 8 Chinese Sovietology and Post-Mao State Policies 1 Summary of the Research 2 Chinese Sovietology and the One-Party Dictatorship 3 Chinese Sovietology and Chinese State-led Capitalism 4 Chinese Sovietology and the Rise of Chinese Nationalism 5 Final Thoughts as the Conclusion of the Book Bibliography
