topic 10 - authoritarian

• To what extent do you agree that the weakness of the political system was the main condition leading to the emergence of authoritarian rule in one state you have studied?
• Qing Dynasty


  • Ended in 1911 - power vacuum
  • What will take over - centralized government or regional warlords, modern or traditional
  • Failure to prevent intrusion of foreign powers
• May Fourth Movement - demonstrations towards western power decisions at Versailles
• Another example of how foreign powers were carving up China in their own interest
• Provided a powerful nationalist feeling
• Wanted a 'revolution against the world to join the world'
• Warlord era (1916-27)


  • Inability to promote effective control by central government
  • Growth of regionalism
  • Several wars of expansion between 1920 and 1922 300K
  • Frequent attacks on each other, conditions terrible for civilians
  • Looting and heavy taxes were extracted from the peasants
  • Integrity of former Chinese Empire was undermined - control of Tibet, Outer Mongolia + Xinjiang were lost
• Conditions leading to CCP founding in 1921
• May fourth movement
• Lenin's Bolshviks - success in Russia encourage Marxism in China
• Foreign interventions - comintern agents sent to China by USSR in 1920
• GMD + CCP small battle
• Comintern in 1923 allowed formation of 1st united front
• GMD turns on CCP after 1st united front - led to Chinese CW
• Chinese society


  • Traditional
  • Many poor peasants
  • Population increase - increased pressure on land
  • ¼ of world's population
  • Population had risen by 8%, arable land by 1%
  • Failed to modernize + develop
  • Lacked coherent infrastructure - lots ruined during war
• Inequality


  • Peasants
  • Rents + taxes high + peasants exploited by money lenders and landlords
  • Peasants would have to pay taxes, but landlords didn't
  • Evictions were common
  • Landlords wealthy, lived on their income + avoided work (10% of pop)
• Failure to address widespread poverty - majority of pop was peasants (60%)
• Instability


  • Unemployment + inflation + hunger
• Women


  • Seen as inferior
  • No rights + required full obedience to either father, son or husbands
  • Foot binding
  • Could be sold
• Attraction to Mao
• Mao's promises


  • Intriguing because of poor economics
  • Land reform - peasants would get more rights, not controlled by their landlords
  • Development + Stability
  • Mao promised a brighter future for peasants and women, gained him followers - a lot - as the majority of pop were peasants
• State clearly that in this context Leninist State emerged in November 1917
• Lenin promised - Land, Bread and Peace
• The Provisional government


  • No elections - Lenin and Bosheviks did sometimes but only kept results if they liked them
  • Divided ideologically and politically
  • Nature of PG helped Lenin to power
  • As real power laid in hands of the soviets - control over factories, workers, and railways
  • Free speech - allowing Bolsheviks and Lenin to organize more freely
  • Took apart the secret police
• July Days (1917)
• Inspiration from Lenin's April Theses - not organized/authorized by Bolsheviks
• Failure of summer offensives + econ distress caused major rioting in Petrograd
• Opportunity for Bolsheviks and Lenin to hang on to
• 20K Kronstadt sailors + 500K soldiers marched to Tauride Palace, demand Soviet take over
• Suppressed by Mensheviks - 100s of Bolsheviks killed
• Kerensky went after Lenin etc. - Lenin had to escape to Finland, others arrested
• "The whole affair damaged Bolsheviks morale and Lenin's credibility as revolutionary leader" - Fitzpatrick
• Kornilov Plot
• Kerensky appointed Kornilov to General Commander of Army
• Continued strikes in Petrograd - Kornilov moves troops to outside of city
• Kerensky paranoid - fears Kornilov would attempt right-wing coup
• So turns to Bolsheviks, provides arms to the Red Army
• Lets out Bolsheviks out of jail as he believes 'to save' Petrograd
• Red guards successfully defend - Lenin + Bolshevik's rep. restored
• Arms are kept by red guard -> later used in Bolshevik's revolution