Peaceful coexistence

A theory, movement, and policy that advocates a state in which countries with different social systems can coexist peacefully without military conflict, and that such a state is possible, and that seeks to realize this state. It was widely advocated during the Cold War, when capitalism and socialism were in fierce conflict.

The seeds of the idea of ​​peaceful coexistence can be found in Lenin's thought after the Russian Revolution. For example, the Treaty of Rapallo, which Soviet Russia concluded with Germany in 1922, is considered the beginning of a policy of peaceful coexistence. However, apart from the period of cooperation with the Western countries during World War II, the Soviet Union continued to predict the arrival of a crisis in the capitalist system and believed that a clash between the two systems was inevitable, so the theory and policy of peaceful coexistence did not see full-scale development. When economist Varga revealed his ideas on peaceful coexistence in 1946, stating that a serious crisis in the capitalist economy was not expected for at least ten years, but that war between the two systems was no longer inevitable, he was heavily criticized as a "reformist."

However, as the capitalist system continued to hold strong while the threat of nuclear war increased, the idea of ​​peaceful coexistence gained ground in the Soviet Union after the death of Stalin in 1953, and after the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1956, it was established as the basic line of foreign policy under Khrushchev. Meanwhile, among Asian and African countries, as the Cold War situation became more serious, there were growing voices calling for coexistence between the two systems in order to maintain peace, and the importance of peaceful coexistence was emphasized in the Five Principles of Peace announced by Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and Indian Prime Minister Nehru in June 1954. Thus, the policy of peaceful coexistence, which was actively advocated by the Third World and the Soviet Union from the mid-1950s, was initially cautiously adopted by the United States and other Western countries, but as the "thaw" from the Cold War progressed in reality from the late 1950s to the 1960s, they gradually became more accepting of it.

In this way, peaceful coexistence has become the basic framework for modern international relations, but various problems have been pointed out, such as the possibility that in its name, the attitude of major powers that go beyond the system to maintain the status quo will be strengthened, and that movements to change the status quo by small countries and weak nations will be suppressed. The end of the Cold War has greatly changed the premise of peaceful coexistence. However, the importance of the attitude of seeking peaceful coexistence with different entities within the international system has not changed.

[Yoichi Kibata]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

異なる社会体制をとる国が、軍事的な対立に至ることなく、平和的に共存する状態、またそのような状態が可能であることを説き、その実現を図る理論、運動、政策。資本主義と社会主義が激しく対立していた冷戦期に広く唱えられた。

　平和共存の考え方の萌芽(ほうが)は、ロシア革命後のレーニンの思想のなかにみいだすことができる。たとえば1922年にソビエト・ロシアがドイツと結んだラパロ条約は、平和共存政策の嚆矢(こうし)として位置づけられている。しかし、第二次世界大戦中の西側諸国との協力期間を除いて、その後のソ連は資本主義体制への危機到来を予測し続けるとともに、両体制間の衝突を不可避と考えていたため、平和共存の理論・政策が本格的な展開をみることはなかった。46年に経済学者バルガが、資本主義経済への重大な危機の到来は少なくとも10年間はないとしつつ、両体制間の戦争はもはや不可避ではないと述べて、平和共存論的考えを明らかにした際には、「改良主義者」として激しい非難を浴びた。

　ところが資本主義体制が強固に存続し、他方核戦争の脅威が増してくるなかで、ソ連では1953年のスターリンの死後、平和共存の考え方が有力になっていき、56年のソ連共産党20回大会以降、フルシチョフのもとで外交政策の基本路線として定着していった。一方、アジア・アフリカ諸国の間では、冷戦状況の深刻化につれて、平和維持のために両体制間の共存を望む声が高まり、54年6月に中国の周恩来(しゅうおんらい／チョウエンライ)首相とインドのネルー首相が発表した平和五原則のなかでも、平和共存の重要性が強調された。このように、50年代なかばから第三世界とソ連側とによって積極的に唱えられ始めた平和共存政策に対し、アメリカなどの西側諸国は当初警戒的姿勢を示したが、50年代末から60年代にかけて、冷戦からの「雪どけ」が現実に進行するなかで、しだいにそれを受け入れる姿勢を強めていった。

　こうして平和共存は現代の国際関係の基本的な枠組みとなったが、その名のもとに体制を超えた大国の現状維持姿勢が強まり、小国や弱小民族の現状変革の動きが抑えられる可能性もあるなど、さまざまな問題点も指摘されている。冷戦の終焉(しゅうえん)によって、平和共存の前提は大きく変化した。しかし国際体制のなかで、異質な存在との平和的な共存を求める姿勢の重要性そのものは変わっていない。

［木畑洋一］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例