Revival & Revolution

We will cover two chapters this week.

For Monday's class discussion, please read Chapter 18, "Revival and Revolution in Japan and China," and prepare, in writing, answers to the following questions:

1. Evaluate the American occupation of Japan and how it shaped Japan's future. How did the Cold War change America's interests in postwar Japan?
2. What were the reasons for Japan's economic success between 1950 and 1990? What contributed to Japan's economic stagnation in the 1990s?
3. What explains the distinctiveness of postwar Japanese culture amid its rapid industrialization?
4. Why were the Communist forces successful in replacing the Guomindang as China's rulers in 1949? Compare China in 1949 to China at present.
5. Which aspects of Mao's policies were successful and which were not--and why? How has China changed since Mao's death, first during the tenure of Deng Xiaoping, and then in the post-Deng era?
6. Why did Taiwan and Hong Kong do so much better economically between 1950 and 1990? How have the governments of both changed since 1990, and with what consequences?

For Wednesday's class discussion, please read Chapter 19, "Korea and Southeast Asia," and prepare, in writing, answers to the following questions:

1. Why does it make sense to discuss Korea together with Southeast Asia in a chapter on post-WWII history? In what ways are their histories similar? What problems are there with this approach?
2. How did Japanese rule affect the development of a modern Korean economic and social infrastructure? How did Japanese occupation of Korea differ from its rule over Taiwan in the pre-WWII era?
3. Was the Korean War necessary? What has been its legacy in Korea since 1953? Compare and contrast the evolution of South Korea's democracy to that of Communist rule in North Korea? What are the prospects of the resolution of hostilities between the two Koreas today?
4. Was the war in Vietnam an international war, a war for independence, or a civil war? Why did the French and then the Americans return to Vietnam after World War II? How has Communist rule of Vietnam changed during the postwar era?
5. Explain the origins of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. Why did the Vietnamese intervene in the late 1970s? What is the aftermath of 30 years of conflict in contemporary Cambodia?
6. Compare and contrast the differences in the development of Myanmar, Thailand, and Singapore in the post-WWII era. Why is the military so influential in Myanmar and Thailand? How does Singapore's democracy differ from that of the United States? In what ways do all three countries have to respond to clashes or potential clashes between differing ethnic groups?
7. What have been the similarities and differences in the development of Indonesia and the Philippines since World War II? Is there a case to be made that big, multicultural nation-states--in contrast to smaller, single-ethnic nation-states--stand in the way of global stability?