How the rivalry between China and India reshaped Asia forever
I’m thrilled to launch a trilogy of episodes: a lecture series by Professor Sarah Paine of the Naval War College, each followed by a deep Q&A.
In this first episode, Prof Paine talks about key decisions by Khrushchev, Mao, Nehru, Bhutto, & Lyndon Johnson that shaped the whole dynamic of South Asia today. This is followed by a Q&A with me.
Come for the spy bases, shoestring nukes, and insight about how great power politics impacts every region.
Huge thanks to @Substack for hosting this!
Sponsor
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Sarah's Books
I highly, highly recommend both
"The Wars for Asia, 1911–1949"
https://www.amazon.com/Wars-Asia-1911-1949-S-Paine/dp/1107697476
and
"The Japanese Empire: Grand Strategy from the Meiji Restoration to the Pacific War"
https://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Empire-Strategy-Restoration-Pacific/dp/1107676169
Links
Transcript: https://open.substack.com/pub/dwarkesh/p/sarah-paine-india
Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/3RFuS7b
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6beCTbPFOXKXNYPAsU7vQa
Timestamps
(0:00:00) - Lecture intro
(0:02:43) - Mao at war, 1949-51
(0:06:12) - Pactomania and Sino-Soviet conflicts
(0:15:14) - The Sino-Indian War
(0:20:32) - Soviet peace in India-Pakistan
(0:22:32) - US Aid and Alliances
(0:26:46) - The difference with WWII
(0:30:41) - The geopolitical map in 1904
(0:35:42) - The US alienates Indira Gandhi
(0:43:30) - Instruments of US power
(0:54:13) - Carrier battle groups
(1:03:13) - Q&A begins
(1:05:03) - The appeal of the USSR
(1:10:08) - The last communist premier
(1:16:14) - India and China’s lost opportunity
(1:32:51) - Soviet proxies in foreign politics
(1:58:36) - Bismark’s cunning
(2:03:37) - Training US officers
(2:07:35) - Cruelty in Russian history