Orthodoxy in Dispute: The Relational Logic of Sino-Soviet Relations During the Cold War | Ortodoxia em disputa: a lógica relacional das relações sino-soviéticas durante a Guerra Fria
Keywords:
China, Union of the Socialist Soviet Republic, Relational theoryAbstract
This study begins with the following question: how did the contest between China and the Soviet Union for the legitimate authority of socialist orthodoxy help transform ideological divergences into mutual threat perceptions, culminating in the deterioration of bilateral relations and the 1969 clashes? The hypothesis is that the Sino–Soviet dynamic cannot be reduced to strategic or geopolitical disagreements, rather, it should be understood as a relational struggle over the legitimate definition of “true socialism.” Methodologically, the paper employs historical–comparative analysis and causal narrative analysis to trace acts of naming, role expectations, and performative acts of the countries. The article concludes that the more each country claimed for itself the legitimate pole for defining socialist orthodoxy, the more a deviant “other” was constructed, which one evolved into an existential threat to each side’s socialist identity.
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