Peaceful coexistence is an international relations theory developed and applied by the Soviet Union during various periods of the Cold War in the context of a predominantly Marxist-Leninist foreign policy. It was accepted by all allied states. In the context of this theory, the countries of the social bloc could coexist peacefully with the capitalist bloc (i.e., states allied with the United States).
This was not consistent with the principle of antagonistic contradiction, according to which socialism and capitalism can never coexist without confrontation. The Soviet Union pursued a policy of peaceful coexistence towards the Western world, which was especially relevant in relations with the United States, NATO and Warsaw Pact countries.
Meaning
The debate over different interpretations of peaceful coexistence was one aspect of the Sino-Soviet split in the 1950s and 1960s. During the 1960s and early 1970s, the Chinese People'sThe Republic, under the leadership of its founder Mao Zedong, argued that a warlike attitude should be maintained towards the capitalist countries, therefore initially rejected the foreign policy of peaceful coexistence as a form of Marxist revisionism.
"Betrayal" of China and Hoxhaism
The Chinese tried to support the principles of communism, but they really wanted to improve their financial situation at any cost. The decision of the leadership of the Celestial Empire in 1972 to establish trade relations with the United States also led to the fact that China tacitly accepted the theory of peaceful coexistence (this was one of the reasons for the aggravation of Soviet-Chinese relations). From that moment until the early 1980s, China increasingly spread its concept of peaceful coexistence to justify its relations with all countries in the world.
Albanian ruler Enver Hoxha (at one time China's only true ally) also denounced this "betrayal" of Mao and spoke out against the Asian country's growing close ties with the West. The consequence of this act was Nixon's visit to China in 1972. Modern Hoxhaist parties continue to talk about the contradictions of the policy of peaceful coexistence. It should be noted that at present the country has split into two camps - adherents of Hoxha's ideas and their ardent opponents.
Policy of Peaceful Coexistence: USSR
Ideas of friendship andcooperation, extending to all countries and social movements associated with the USSR, quickly became a way of action for many parties, prompting various politicians, especially in developed countries, to abandon their hard line towards the USSR.
Khrushchev enshrined this concept in Soviet foreign policy in 1956 at the XX Congress of the CPSU. The policy arose to reduce hostility between the two superpowers, especially in light of the possibility of a nuclear war. The concept of peaceful coexistence is a theory that argued that the United States and the USSR and their respective political ideologies could coexist rather than fight each other.
Khrushchev tried to demonstrate his commitment to this position by attending international peace conferences such as the Geneva summit and traveling the world. For example, he visited the American Camp David in 1959. The World Peace Council, founded in 1949 and heavily funded by the Soviet Union, has attempted to organize a peace movement in support of this concept internationally.
Role for the West
Lenin and the Bolsheviks defended the world revolution through similar movements within individual countries, but they never defended the possibility of spreading it through a war involving the invasion of the Red Army troops into any capitalist state.
Indeed, apart from calling on the workers to take power into their own hands, Lenin always spoke of “peaceful cohabitation” withcapitalist countries. Khrushchev used this aspect of Lenin's policy. He tried to prove that socialism would someday defeat capitalism, but this would be done not by force, but by personal example. The implication was that this proclamation meant the end of the propaganda activities of the USSR to spread communist ideas through revolutionary violence. Some communists around the world called such a policy a betrayal of their principles.
Causes of occurrence
Peaceful coexistence is a reaction to the realization that a nuclear war between two superpowers will lead to the destruction not only of the socialist system, but of all mankind. It also reflects the strategic military mindset of the USSR - a move away from militaristic politics and a reorientation towards strategies focused on diplomacy and economics. While anxiety about this shift helped bring down Khrushchev, his successors did not return to antagonistic theories of contradiction and inevitable conflict between the capitalist and socialist systems.
Criticism
One of the most vocal critics of peaceful coexistence in the early 60s of the last century was the Argentine Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara. As leader of the Cuban government during the October missile crisis, this politician believed that a re-invasion by the United States would be a justifiable basis for nuclear war. According to Che Guevara, the capitalist bloc consisted of "hyenas and jackals" who "feed on the unarmednations." Therefore, they must be destroyed.
Chinese version
Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai proposed five principles for peaceful coexistence in 1954 during negotiations with India over Tibet. They were written down in the Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of India on Trade and Diplomatic Relations. These principles were reaffirmed by Zhou at the Bandung Conference of Asian and African Countries, where they were included in the declarations of the conference. One of the main conditions of this policy was that the PRC would not support communist insurgencies in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia and Malaysia.
However, Maoist doctrine continued to emphasize the strategic importance of any conflict between the imperialist and socialist world systems. The Chinese advocated a more aggressive yet flexible form of global politics theory than the one adopted in the USSR.
With the death of Mao, they softened their line, although they did not switch to capitalist positions. In the late 1970s and 1980s, the concept of peaceful coexistence was expanded and accepted as the basis for the existence of all sovereign nations. In 1982, five principles were written into the Constitution of the People's Republic of China that govern its foreign policy.
Consequences
There are three notable consequences of the Chinese concept of peaceful coexistence. First, unlike the Sovietdoctrines of the mid-1970s, Chinese principles include the promotion of global free trade. Second, the Chinese concept of peaceful coexistence attaches great importance to national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Therefore, the steps taken by the United States to promote democracy and human rights are seen as hostile within this framework.
Finally, since the PRC does not consider Taiwan sovereign, the concept of peaceful coexistence does not apply to it.
Punchshill Treaty
The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence are better known to the world community under the name "Punchshill Treaty". Its essence: non-interference in other people's internal affairs and respect for the integrity and sovereignty of each other (from Sanskrit, panch: five, shil: virtues). Their first official codification in the form of a treaty was in an agreement between China and India in 1954. The principles were set forth in the preamble to the "Agreement (with Exchange of Notes) on Trade and Communication between the Tibet Region of China and India", which was signed in Beijing on April 28, 1954.
These principles are:
- Mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty.
- Equality and cooperation for mutual benefit.
- Mutual non-aggression.
- Mutual non-interference in each other's internal affairs.
- Peaceful coexistence.
China-India Relations
The Comprehensive Agreement serves as one of the most important relationship between India and China for the development of economic and security cooperation. ATThe Five Principles were based on the notion that the newly independent states, after decolonization, would be able to develop a more principled approach to international relations.
These principles were emphasized by Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Prime Minister Zhou Enlai in a speech delivered during a conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, just a few days after the signing of the China-India Treaty. Subsequently, they were included in a slightly modified form in the statement of ten principles published in April 1955 at the historic Asian-African conference in Bandung (Indonesia). This meeting, for the first time in history, articulated the idea that post-colonial states have something special to offer the world.
In Indonesia
The Indonesian authorities later suggested that the five principles could become the basis of their state's foreign policy. In June 1945, Indonesian nationalist leader Sukarno proclaimed five general principles (or "pancasila") on which future institutions were to be based. Indonesia became independent in 1949.
Peaceful coexistence: successes and contradictions
Five principles that were adopted in China, Indonesia and several other countries formed the basis of the program of the Non-Aligned Movement, created in Belgrade (Yugoslavia) in 1961. The contradictions of peaceful coexistence resulted in the collapse of this country and the collapse of all socialist regimes that hoped for a friendlyWestern attitude.
