1. China under Mao: Why did an authoritarian state emerge?
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under the leadership of Mao Zedong achieved victory against the Nationalist forces - the Guomindang (GMD) in 1949 following two decades of conflict which involved not only civil war between the two groups but also war against the Japanese from 1937 onwards. Mao's ideas on revolutionary warfare and the nature of the conflict were key for the defeat of the nationalists and the...