China and the splitting of alliances: historic cases and implications for North Korea
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Authors
Pruce, Joseph L., V
Subjects
China
Soviet Union
Russia
Mongolia
Vietnam
North Korea
alliance
United States
policy
Soviet Union
Russia
Mongolia
Vietnam
North Korea
alliance
United States
policy
Advisors
Twomey, Christopher
Date of Issue
2014-03
Date
Mar-14
Publisher
Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
What causes alliances to split between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and its allies and how can this information be used to predict Beijing's relationship with North Korea? Since its founding in 1949, the PRC has become engaged in several alliances, formal and informal; however, the majority of these friendships fell to the wayside. The Soviet Union, Mongolia, and North Vietnam all gained and lost China as an ally. This thesis identifies which factors led to the deterioration and splitting of these alliances. It argues that factors concerning national sovereignty have a heavy significance when combined with the involvement of a competitive power. The explanations for the collapse of these historical alliances provide critical insight into China's current friendship with North Korea. This thesis shows that the conditions that led to alliance splits in the historical cases are not present in the current relationship with North Korea. It then concludes that the Sino-North Korean alliance will remain viable for the foreseeable future.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
National Security Affairs
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.