Authoritarianism

Question 1

What is authoritarianism?

Answer 1

Leaders tell people what to do and expect obedience

Justified by some higher value (crown, nation, flag, religion, race) and if you don’t obey you’re a traitor to that value. This deepens the fear of getting in trouble

Individual rights are sacrificed for the bigger picture

Inequality is built into the system on purpose (acceptance of inequality)

Question 2

How did dictators come to power in the 20th century?

Answer 2

By a political wave of action

To stay a segment of society needed to support them

They convinced the public through crisis, because fear is the ultimate tool

They offered simple solutions to complex problems

Question 3

Why wasn’t totalitarianism possible before the 20th century?

Answer 3

It requires a level of control that requires increased communication and movement

Question 4

What is totalitarianism?

Answer 4

Desire to control and shape society

Rule by one political party

Control by a charismatic leader

Lack of individual rights

Internal repression (secret police)

Censorship of media

Propaganda

Special attention to youth

Economy benefits state and rulers

Preparation of society for war

Spread of ideology that justifies all these measures

Question 5

What is fascism?

Answer 5

Right wing totalitarianism

Simple solutions

Strong nationalism

Uses myth rather than reason to motivate people

Looks to the past

Maintain themselves by external expansion

Question 6

What is communism?

Answer 6

Left wing totalitarianism

Desire for a communal response

Create a utopian society by erasing class divide

Accept technology

Changes come internally

Lead to autocratic rule almost by accident

Question 7

What was the name of the political party that led the Russian Revolution?

Answer 7

The Bolsheviks

Question 8

Why was Russia an unlikely place for a Marxist revolution?

Answer 8

They didn’t have industrialization or a big working class to rise up against the government

Question 9

What were the two myths the Communist Party perpetuated?

Answer 9

That the government was a democracy (founding myth)

That the Communist party has the people’s best interests and took care of them (sustaining myth)

Question 10

What was the name of the peace treaty that allowed the Soviet Union to retreat from WWI?

Answer 10

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Question 11

Which Soviet leader instituted War Communism?

Answer 11

Vladimir Lenin (during the Civil War)

Question 12

Which revolutionary leaders was forced into exile in the 1920’s?

Answer 12

Leon Trotsky

Question 13

Who instituted totalitarianism in the USSR?

Answer 13

Joseph Stalin

Question 14

What was the Great Purge of 1936-1939 in Russia?

Answer 14

Stalin got rid of anyone who was a threat to his rule

Question 15

Who were the Kulaks in Russia? What happened to them?

Answer 15

They were the wealthy farmers that rejected the idea of collectivization and giving up their farms to the government

Stalin declared them enemies of the state and either killed or exiled them

With all the best farmers gone, food production got worse

Question 16

What was the name of the executive council who was responsible for making and enforcing policy in Russia?

Answer 16

Politburo

Question 17

What was the position that held the ultimate power in the USSR?

Answer 17

General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Question 18

Italy’s invasion of Abyssinia was primarily motivated by Mussolini’s desire for…

Answer 18

National prestige through the acquisition of colonies

Question 19

What was the political environment in many Europe nations in the 1930’s?

Answer 19

Polarized between fascism and communism

Question 20

What was the 1911 Chinese Revolution?

Answer 20

Nationalist revolution

The people in China demand their government to modernize lead by Sun Yat-sen

China should be a democracy

Question 21

What was the Chinese Civil War?

Answer 21

Boxer Rebellion was a revolt against Westernization

The Nationalist Party divides in two

On the right: Chiang Kai-shek
On the left: Mao

Two sides are fighting for control, Mao and his supporters are losing and are run into the mountains (The Long March) for a year

Survivors become the Communist Party

The communists are nice to everyone, so they gain support

Question 22

What was the Second Sino-Japanese War?

Answer 22

In 1937 Japan invades China

Both sides of the nationalist party fight against Japan

China loses, Japan conquest of China is brutal

The Communists outshine the capitalists in battle so when war is over communism is very popular

Question 23

How did Mao come into power?

Answer 23

1945 to 1949: civil war ramps up again, and Mao defeats the other side and they flee to Taiwan

1949: became the Communist People’s Republic

The gain support from Russia and they send advisors and money

Question 24

What was the Korean War?

Answer 24

America was really close to the border of China so they started to push into the country

It was a big crisis that solidified communism in China, because now its nationalism and a fight for the motherland

Question 25

What was The Great Leap Forward?

Answer 25

Plan to modernize China

Was a complete disaster and caused a famine

Question 26

What was the Five Year Plans in China?

Answer 26

Was a failure because it wasn’t really thought out

Big focus was making steel, but there was no emphasis on food which caused a famine

Did organize the economy and industrialized the nation a little

Question 27

What was The Cultural Revolution in China?

Answer 27

Mao thought that China is being held back by its past, so he decided to eliminate the past and create a new definition of Chinese society

This was the moment where China became totalitarianism

Thought police, re-education, anti-Western

Question 28

Who were the Red Guards in China?

Answer 28

Not officials, bands of youths

They were unleashed on society to dig up crimes against the state

Question 29

Who was Deng Xiaoping?

Answer 29

Mao dies in 1977, the 70’s are a complete disaster

Deng takes over the party and implements some serious changes

Implements modernization by creating Special Economic Zones

Deng’s rule brought political openness and people start demanding democracy

Question 30

What is Bureaucratic Capitalism?

Answer 30

Market economy but an authoritarian government

There was a lot of corruption

Created Special Economic Zones, made little zones of free trade to make money but were communist as a whole

Question 31

What happened at Tiananmen Square?

Answer 31

Students protested (non-violent) and requested a democracy

The army rolls up and kills and stomps out all the protestors

Question 32

What are the economic challenges facing China in the 21st century?

Answer 32

Issues with stability, energy, and the environment

Question 33

What are the political challenges facing China in the 21st century?

Answer 33

Government not giving up control but also making the economy work and people happy

Question 34

What is Chinas role in the modern world?

Answer 34

They are becoming the next superpower and continue to grow and influence more countries