Image and Generation: A Social-Psychological Analysis of the Sino-Soviet Dispute

Authors

Stan A. Taylor
Robert S. Wood

Keywords

China, People's Republic of China, Foreign Relations, Russia

Abstract

When this article was published in 1966, China and the Soviet Union were experiencing political friction, despite their previous friendship under Communism. Here the authors explain that to understand any international conflict, one must understand the perceptions and attitudes of those nations’ decision-makers. The authors reach into the past, examining the political atmospheres in each country at the time China’s and the Soviet Union’s leaders came of age. By doing so, they illustrating how China’s leaders developed an extremely xenophobic view of the world and why the Soviets did not. The authors also explain why the Soviets viewed their Chinese allies as unnecessarily dogmatic and how this view added fuel to the dispute.

Recommended Citation

Taylor, Stan A. and Wood, Robert S. (1966) "Image and Generation: A Social-Psychological Analysis of the Sino-Soviet Dispute," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 7: Iss. 2, Article 9.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol7/iss2/9