Why Vietnam Invaded Cambodia: Political Culture and the Causes of War
Morris, an experienced academic and journalist, goes beyond earlier work in this cogent and lucid history. Vietnam invaded Cambodia (on Christmas Day, 1978) in an effort to eliminate the odious Pol Pot regime but instead got involved in a disastrous war with China that threatened to draw in the Soviet Union and the United States. Morris's interest in examining this event is twofold. First, he uses newly available Soviet archives, long-term research, and interviews to chronicle the origins of the war, its roots in the 1930s, and the breakdown of relations between former revolutionary allies. But his larger purpose is to critique contemporary international relations theory as being too narrowly rational. He argues that theories of political culture use leader psychology, the ethic of paranoid regimes, and the international system of Communist nations to explain these wars (and, by extension, others), which were not in any rational national interest. Recommended for university and larger public collections.ACharles Hayford, Evanston, ILCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.