This idea shaped US and Western foreign policy during the Cold War, particularly with regard to Asia. The writings of Russian leader Vladimir Lenin called for ‘international revolution’. Communism, he said, was a movement based on class, not nationality or race. In March 1919 Moscow established the Communist International, or Comintern, a committee of Russian and foreign delegates. The Comintern’s main objective was to promote and advance communist movements abroad, to facilitate the ‘world revolution’. 

The Comintern was attended by delegates from communist parties in dozens of countries, to my surprise also in atttendance was Western nations like the United States, Great Britain and Australia. In its early years the Comintern provided training and material support to individuals and groups around the world, including the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Vietnamese nationalist Ho Chi Minh.