The Impact of the Cold War Policy and International Conflicts on the D Assignment - 1

The Impact of the Cold War Policy and International Conflicts on the Development of East Asia since 1945 till Today - Assignment Example The Cold War benefited China since it triggered a civil war between the communist and nationalist Chinese. The victory of the communists Chinese in 1949 resulted in the installation of a government, which effectively unified the Chinese people. Additionally, the victory of the communists resulted in the restoration of China to an independent state, free of the European interference. Nevertheless, the Cold War had a negative impact on Korea, China, and Japan in the sense that it created regional instability. For instance, the Korean War reportedly created an armed conflict between the U.S. and China to the extent that it created serious regional stability, which impacted negatively on the economy of the region. Again, during the Cold War, the USSR supported North Korea while the U.S. supported South Korea. Since then, the two nations have been involved in a conflict with Russia still maintaining its support for North Korea and the U.S. casting its weight behind South Korea. These historical conflicts whose origins are traced to the Cold War period are impacting negatively on regional stability. By extension, the conflicts impact negatively on the development of the region since it hampers trade. China, Japan, and Korea were once among the poorest countries in the world. In fact, the three countries were not considered economic powers until after the end of World War II. It is after the war that the countries took a path to modernize themselves. The modernization process in the three countries began by creating political stability. In the early part of the 20th century, all three countries were ruled by autocratic leaders. As such, the countries were marred by corruption to the extent that only a few, mainly the rich benefited. This resulted in the unequal distribution of resources. To modernize the three countries, the citizens of these countries, particularly those in the opposition, pushed for the replacement of autocratic leaders with governments elected by the people. This in part involved calling for the modernization of institutions in the countries to ensure that democracy and the rule of law are embraced. Japan and China then moved with speed to establish a strong mi litary to ensure that the kingdoms and empires are protected and that their political stability was maintained. However, Korea did not focus much on building a strong military as its counterparts. Instead, Korea embarked on creating economic reforms to promote trade and investment in the country. Japan and China, however, embarked on creating economic reforms after building a strong military. The three countries share a similarity in that all embarked on infrastructural development as part of their modernization process. Today, the three countries are among the top ten largest economies in the world.