Welcome to Geopolitics Unpacked.
I'm Alex.
And I'm Sarah.
Today we're discussing Ben Xu's paper 'A Tale of 2 Treaties' and exploring the geopolitical dynamics of the Cold War era.
Sarah, the paper introduces this fascinating concept of '轮庄博弈' (turn-based power game) to explain historical cycles.
How does this apply to the rise and fall of the Warsaw Pact and NATO?
It's brilliant.
The paper argues that just like in a mahjong game, the '庄家' (庄家) tries to maintain power by exploiting the '闲家' (闲家), but eventually gets overthrown by a coalition of the exploited.
Applied to the Cold War, this explains how the Soviet Union's attempts to maintain control over its satellite states led to the collapse of the Warsaw Pact.
Hello, this is Dmitri calling from Moscow.
I found the paper's analysis of the Soviet Union's collapse particularly insightful.
The author mentions how the Soviet Union's focus on military power at the expense of technological innovation led to its decline.
Do you think this is still relevant today?
Great question, Dmitri.
The paper does highlight how the Soviet Union's decision to abandon the Setun ternary computer in favor of copying IBM's binary systems was a critical mistake.
This technological stagnation, combined with the arms race,耗尽了 the Soviet economy.
What do you think, Sarah?
Absolutely, Dmitri.
The paper's analysis of the '赛博共产主义' (cyber communism) vision that never materialized is fascinating.
The Soviet Union had the technical expertise to develop advanced computing systems, but bureaucratic interests and a focus on military might derailed those efforts.
This is a cautionary tale for any nation that prioritizes military power over technological innovation.
Thank you.
It's interesting to see how the paper connects these historical lessons to contemporary geopolitics.
The rise of China as a technological power while maintaining a strong military presence shows that a balance is possible.
That's a great point, Dmitri.
Thank you for calling in.
Hi, this is Priya from New Delhi.
I was intrigued by the paper's section on '革命输出的会计困局' (the accounting dilemma of revolution export).
The author argues that China's foreign aid policies during the Cold War suffered from conflicting objectives.
Could you elaborate on this?
Thanks for calling, Priya.
The paper uses an accounting metaphor to explain the problem.
Traditional tributary systems had clear objectives (maintaining political order), but revolutionary export tried to achieve both political returns and selfless aid simultaneously, leading to confusion and inefficiency.
Sarah, could you expand on this?
Definitely, Priya.
The paper argues that this accounting dilemma led to situations where China provided significant aid to countries like Albania and Vietnam without clear strategic returns.
When these relationships soured, it created diplomatic challenges.
The author suggests that this experience influenced China's more pragmatic foreign aid policies today, which are more focused on mutual benefit through economic cooperation.
Fascinating.
This perspective helps explain the evolution of China's foreign policy from the Cold War era to today's Belt and Road Initiative.
Thank you for the insight.
Thank you, Priya.
It's been great having both of you on the show today.
Join us next time as we continue exploring the insights from Ben Xu's 'A Tale of 2 Treaties' and their relevance to contemporary geopolitics.
Until then, this is Geopolitics Unpacked signing off.