China

As observers watch the slow decline of the Chinese economy the questions arise, will Xi Jinping resort to military violence as happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989 and the answer is probably not. The general thinking is that as long as the dictator controls the military, he will remain in power but that may not be the case. In China’s case it could be much like what happened in South Korea in 1987. The people went on massive strikes and the economy came to a halt. Foreign investors pulled their money out and the IMF and World Bank froze assets. If this happens and Xi chooses to put down the people with force the military will see that when all collapses they will no longer be paid and they will revolt as happened in South Korea. After the collapse elections were held and democracy took hold and the economy boomed to where South Korea became a thriving country. The South Korean GDP went from $170 billion in 1987 to $1.7 trillion today, a tenfold increase in two generations. This is one option for China.