Structure of opportunity [electronic resource] : the Third Indochina Conflict and the world, 1976-1978.

1991

1 online resource (479 p.)

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This study analyzes the changes in the international relations among the Indochinese states, the ASEAN states, Japan, China, the USSR and the US between January 1976 and December 1978. Its main purpose is to identify some generalizable patterns of multilateral international relations before or during the use of force by states. First, after a critical review of the relevant existing theories of international conflict, a set of alternative logic is presented. Then, basic techniques of social network analysis are applied to the time-series data on international delegations within the above group. Third, the Khmer Rouge's mental and organizational attributes are examined. Finally, by combining the arguments of the above three steps, the longitudinal changes in the perceptions and calculations of Cambodia, Vietnam and China are interpreted. It is found that multilateral international relations before or during the use of force in Southeast Asia in the late 1970s have important dynamics. Anticipation of new participants in a conflict and future behavior of other participants affect the present behavior of a state. The special attributes of the Khmer Rouge were fundamental condition that started the Third Indochina Conflict, but the dynamics of a series of aggressions and the response to it are explained initially by the relations among Cambodia, Vietnam, China, and Thailand, and later by the relations among a larger group of countries, especially Cambodia, Vietnam, China, the ASEAN states, the USSR, and the US.

Books / Online / Dissertations & Theses

English

July 12, 2011

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Yale University, 1991.

Yale University.