Laos
Falling Domino
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2877647 |
|---|---|
| Authors | John Girling (corresponding author), J L S Girling |
| Year | 1970 |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 370 |
| Publication date | 1970-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Pacific Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0030-851X • E-ISSN: 1715-3379 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/2754217 |
| OpenAlex | W2312749326 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
THE LAOS SITUATION looks simple. But like many problems it is simple to explain from a distance; it is more complicated the nearer one gets. opposite is true of the domino theory. If this were not so, it would be hard to explain why the old myth, which does not stand up to close examination, should have such remarkable staying power. From Eisenhower to Nixon and from Indochina in i950 to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in I970: unlike the dominoes, the theory itself will not lie down.' Perhaps it is not so surprising after all. For, to adapt Pascal's saying about the heart: The domino theory has its reasons that Reason does not know of. Before describing the characteristics of the domino theory, or rather of its advocates, and then applying it to the situation in Laos, it is first necessary to point out what the theory is not. It is not a theory about aggression, that is, direct invasion by organised units, which is a matter of force. There is no need to invoke the domino theory to understand the collapse of states conquered one after the other by a more powerful nation. Instead, it is about the gray, uncertain area between armed aggression (or the threat of it) from outside and subversion from within, which is typical of conditions in many developing countries. Inevitably it involves a more or less subjective approach: aggression-apart from legalistic considerations on which in any case the nations have found it impossible to reach agreement-is often our label for what our enemies justify as fraternal assistance; whether the one assisted is the legitimate government or the national liberation front does not alter the point. Hungary and Czechoslovakia, on the one hand, and South Vietnam, on the other, have made this clear. As for subversion, this is known to our opponents as political struggle; it is what they practice whether they are acting legally -that is, allowed to function-or not. This situation is not new and neither is the domino theory which
Biology · Domino · Domino effect · Environmental health · Falling (accident) · Political science · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Law · Medicine
| Citations per year | 0.04 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1972 - 1976 (5) |
| Highly cited | No |