Emergence of Authoritarian States

Conditions in which authoritarian states emerged

• Economic Factors:

  Early 1900s majority of land owned by the upper class Mao promised land reform to peasants Qing Dynasty - Heavy taxes imposed to support the building of court; tax collectors would often steal majority of tax money

• Social Division:

  extreme division between classes- countryside ruled by warlords division between areas- cultural ans language differences caused China to lack a uniform identity and sense of nationalism gender division- women seen only as beauty standards and to serve men, not even viewed as an actual person. created opportunity for ccp to gain support by talking to women and encouraging them to join the party

  Impact of War

  Chinese Civil War- long march, opportunity for mao to spread his ideology, gain support of peasants while utilizing Guerilla tactics second Sino-Japanese war, united ccp and gmd against Japan temporarily, Jeishi lack of effective leadership that helped Mao after the war (rape of nanjing, yellow river flood, etc)

• Weakness of Political System:

  GMD- Betrayed peasants and lacked support;  Low literacy/education rates in the countryside lack of unity led to huge weakness that Japan took advantage of in their brutal attacks Boxer rebellion (1899) - Aimed to push out foreigners from China; lost due to lack of weapons; West would be deemed as a threat in China

• Other things to consider:

  • The rise of communism in China amidst social and economic turmoil was exacerbated by the Chinese Civil War.

  • Mao Zedong's leadership and the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 following the victory of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

  • Economic instability and social unrest during the early 20th century, exacerbated by foreign imperialism and internal conflict, provided fertile ground for authoritarian rule.

  • The impact of the Chinese Civil War, where the CCP emerged victorious over the nationalist Guomindang (GMD), led by Chiang Kai-shek, establishing communist rule.

• Note: Consider the effects of the Chinese Civil War; and the extent to which communism had control of the state (can be studied as a Topic 11 choice)

Methods used to Establish Authoritarian State

Use of legal methods

Use of force

Charismatic Leadership

Dissemination of Propaganda

Nature, extent, and treatment of opposition

The impact of the success and/or failure of foreign policy on the maintenance of power

Aims and Results of Policies

• Domestic policies:

• Policies on Women and Minorities:

  Women	must consent to marriage, can’t be sold for prostitution, illegal to abandon baby girls, encouraged to have their own (communist) opinions/voices, strict beauty standards such as foot binding eliminated, can own land
  Minorities	all foreigners targeted/driven out in 3 anti campaign

• Authoritarian control and the extent to which it was achieved

  Socialist Education Movement (1962-1966)- Mao attempting to have complete control over China (it was having peasants educating others)