Jack Hayward
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199216314
- eISBN:
- 9780191712265
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199216314.003.0011
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
Weak party and trade union organizations have been fragmented by fascination with revolutionary rhetoric despite recourse in practice to reformism. Following a contrast between anarchist outsiders ...
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Weak party and trade union organizations have been fragmented by fascination with revolutionary rhetoric despite recourse in practice to reformism. Following a contrast between anarchist outsiders and Radical insiders, the vicissitudes of partisan French socialism are recounted. The secular decline of the sectarian Communist Party has coincided with the collapse of Marxism's ideological hegemony.Less
Weak party and trade union organizations have been fragmented by fascination with revolutionary rhetoric despite recourse in practice to reformism. Following a contrast between anarchist outsiders and Radical insiders, the vicissitudes of partisan French socialism are recounted. The secular decline of the sectarian Communist Party has coincided with the collapse of Marxism's ideological hegemony.
Archie Brown
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780192880529
- eISBN:
- 9780191598876
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0192880527.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Russian Politics
A central thesis of the book, elaborated especially in this chapter, is that from the outset of his General Secretaryship, Gorbachev was seriously interested in political change as well as in ...
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A central thesis of the book, elaborated especially in this chapter, is that from the outset of his General Secretaryship, Gorbachev was seriously interested in political change as well as in economic reform, but that in the course of the struggle to introduce it, he came to the realization that reform was not enough and that the political system had to be comprehensively transformed. The chapter discusses six stages of transformation between March 1985 and December 1991 as well as the fourfold nature of the transformation that was required: first, the movement from authoritarianism to political pluralism; second, the need to move from a command economy with virtually 100% state ownership of the means of production to a market economy with a substantial private sector; third, the need to create a genuine federation or a looser confederation in place of the pseudo‐federalism in which the aspirations of the more self‐conscious nations within the Soviet borders had been ruthlessly suppressed; and, fourth, the need to transform foreign policy. The dilemma for Gorbachev was that the fourfold transformation was an interlinked process: any three of these basic changes were likely to be undermined by the absence of a fourth; yet, as each was implemented to a greater or lesser degree, its side effects produced complications in the other spheres. Among the political changes analysed are the breakthrough represented by the Nineteenth Party Conference of 1988, the movement from party to state power, the advent of contested elections for a new legislature, the indirect election by that legislature of Gorbachev as President, and the failure to split the Communist Party.Less
A central thesis of the book, elaborated especially in this chapter, is that from the outset of his General Secretaryship, Gorbachev was seriously interested in political change as well as in economic reform, but that in the course of the struggle to introduce it, he came to the realization that reform was not enough and that the political system had to be comprehensively transformed. The chapter discusses six stages of transformation between March 1985 and December 1991 as well as the fourfold nature of the transformation that was required: first, the movement from authoritarianism to political pluralism; second, the need to move from a command economy with virtually 100% state ownership of the means of production to a market economy with a substantial private sector; third, the need to create a genuine federation or a looser confederation in place of the pseudo‐federalism in which the aspirations of the more self‐conscious nations within the Soviet borders had been ruthlessly suppressed; and, fourth, the need to transform foreign policy. The dilemma for Gorbachev was that the fourfold transformation was an interlinked process: any three of these basic changes were likely to be undermined by the absence of a fourth; yet, as each was implemented to a greater or lesser degree, its side effects produced complications in the other spheres. Among the political changes analysed are the breakthrough represented by the Nineteenth Party Conference of 1988, the movement from party to state power, the advent of contested elections for a new legislature, the indirect election by that legislature of Gorbachev as President, and the failure to split the Communist Party.
David Howell
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198203049
- eISBN:
- 9780191719530
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198203049.003.0023
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
The relationship between the Labour Party and the Communist Party remained unresolved through most of the 1920s. Only in 1928, after several debates resulting in ambiguous decisions, did the Labour ...
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The relationship between the Labour Party and the Communist Party remained unresolved through most of the 1920s. Only in 1928, after several debates resulting in ambiguous decisions, did the Labour Party finally exclude all members of the Communist Party from its institutions. Keen ideological divisions could be emphasized by partisans. Clement Attlee did not share in the welcome for the Bolshevik Revolution. Questions of constitutional propriety and political feasibility were crucial both to the protracted debate and to its eventual outcome. In particular, these concerns focused on the relationship between the Labour Party and its trade union affiliates. The controversy was also shaped by the broader industrial and political contexts. The industrial struggles of 1921 and 1926, the conflicting reappraisals fostered by industrial defeats, electoral optimism and anxieties, the brief fact of the 1924 Labour Government — all were significant. Moreover, the shifting industrial and political strategies of the Communist Party, responding to both domestic and international pressures, left their mark especially on debates within the trade unions.Less
The relationship between the Labour Party and the Communist Party remained unresolved through most of the 1920s. Only in 1928, after several debates resulting in ambiguous decisions, did the Labour Party finally exclude all members of the Communist Party from its institutions. Keen ideological divisions could be emphasized by partisans. Clement Attlee did not share in the welcome for the Bolshevik Revolution. Questions of constitutional propriety and political feasibility were crucial both to the protracted debate and to its eventual outcome. In particular, these concerns focused on the relationship between the Labour Party and its trade union affiliates. The controversy was also shaped by the broader industrial and political contexts. The industrial struggles of 1921 and 1926, the conflicting reappraisals fostered by industrial defeats, electoral optimism and anxieties, the brief fact of the 1924 Labour Government — all were significant. Moreover, the shifting industrial and political strategies of the Communist Party, responding to both domestic and international pressures, left their mark especially on debates within the trade unions.
Archie Brown
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780192880529
- eISBN:
- 9780191598876
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0192880527.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Russian Politics
This chapter traces Gorbachev's progress from birth in March 1931 in a peasant family in southern Russia to his appointment as the Secretary of the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party ...
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This chapter traces Gorbachev's progress from birth in March 1931 in a peasant family in southern Russia to his appointment as the Secretary of the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party with responsibility for agriculture in 1978. The impact of Stalin's terror on the older generation of Gorbachev's family and his childhood wartime experiences are noted, as is the importance of his study for five years in the Law Faculty of Moscow University. There he met his wife, Raisa, and their relationship was to remain exceptionally close, both intellectually and emotionally. Upon graduation, Gorbachev returned to his native Stavropol region and began a rapid ascent through the ranks of the Komsomol and Communist Party, becoming party chief of the whole region in 1970. As such, he had the opportunity to greet such senior party figures as Yury Andropov and Mikhail Suslov on their visits to this spa territory. Their good opinion of Gorbachev, as well as that of Fedor Kulakov, a former Stavropol party secretary who, by the 1970s, was a member of the Politburo, helped facilitate Gorbachev's move to Moscow when Kulakov, who had been the overseer of agriculture, died in 1978.Less
This chapter traces Gorbachev's progress from birth in March 1931 in a peasant family in southern Russia to his appointment as the Secretary of the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party with responsibility for agriculture in 1978. The impact of Stalin's terror on the older generation of Gorbachev's family and his childhood wartime experiences are noted, as is the importance of his study for five years in the Law Faculty of Moscow University. There he met his wife, Raisa, and their relationship was to remain exceptionally close, both intellectually and emotionally. Upon graduation, Gorbachev returned to his native Stavropol region and began a rapid ascent through the ranks of the Komsomol and Communist Party, becoming party chief of the whole region in 1970. As such, he had the opportunity to greet such senior party figures as Yury Andropov and Mikhail Suslov on their visits to this spa territory. Their good opinion of Gorbachev, as well as that of Fedor Kulakov, a former Stavropol party secretary who, by the 1970s, was a member of the Politburo, helped facilitate Gorbachev's move to Moscow when Kulakov, who had been the overseer of agriculture, died in 1978.
Archie Brown
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780192880529
- eISBN:
- 9780191598876
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0192880527.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Russian Politics
Obstacles to democratization and pre‐conditions for transformative change are examined, as are changing evaluations of Mikhail Gorbachev. The weakness of the dissident movement in the first half of ...
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Obstacles to democratization and pre‐conditions for transformative change are examined, as are changing evaluations of Mikhail Gorbachev. The weakness of the dissident movement in the first half of the 1980s and the modesty of expectations of change when Gorbachev succeeded Konstantin Chernenko as Soviet leader are noted. The radicalization of Gorbachev's policies is related to his learning process, to the strengthening of his political power between 1985 and 1988, and to societal pressures. Gorbachev outwitted the traditional holders of institutional power who imposed constraints upon the General Secretary's freedom of action but he was also responsible for the creation of new countervailing powers, more broadly based than the old ones, which ultimately undermined his institutional authority. The diversity of view within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union became increasingly apparent as the novel phenomenon of a serious reformer in the Kremlin allowed these divergent opinions to come out into the open.Less
Obstacles to democratization and pre‐conditions for transformative change are examined, as are changing evaluations of Mikhail Gorbachev. The weakness of the dissident movement in the first half of the 1980s and the modesty of expectations of change when Gorbachev succeeded Konstantin Chernenko as Soviet leader are noted. The radicalization of Gorbachev's policies is related to his learning process, to the strengthening of his political power between 1985 and 1988, and to societal pressures. Gorbachev outwitted the traditional holders of institutional power who imposed constraints upon the General Secretary's freedom of action but he was also responsible for the creation of new countervailing powers, more broadly based than the old ones, which ultimately undermined his institutional authority. The diversity of view within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union became increasingly apparent as the novel phenomenon of a serious reformer in the Kremlin allowed these divergent opinions to come out into the open.
Herbert Marcuse
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691134130
- eISBN:
- 9781400846467
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691134130.003.0014
- Subject:
- History, Military History
This chapter focuses on the Communist Party of Germany. Prior to 1933, the German Communist Party was an important force in the German political system and one of the three largest political parties. ...
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This chapter focuses on the Communist Party of Germany. Prior to 1933, the German Communist Party was an important force in the German political system and one of the three largest political parties. The report states that since its dissolution in 1933 by the Nazis, the party has continued to exist, both inside and outside Germany. At present, the German Communist Party is the only pre-1933 party which has formulated a systematic program and developed tactics to exploit the conditions which it anticipates will exist in Germany. The chapter considers the historical position of the German Communist Party in German politics, its present strength, and the plans by which it hopes to become a political force in post-war Germany. It also discusses the impact of the Free German movement on both the current policy and the future of the party. Finally, it reflects on the possible future role of the Communist Party in Germany.Less
This chapter focuses on the Communist Party of Germany. Prior to 1933, the German Communist Party was an important force in the German political system and one of the three largest political parties. The report states that since its dissolution in 1933 by the Nazis, the party has continued to exist, both inside and outside Germany. At present, the German Communist Party is the only pre-1933 party which has formulated a systematic program and developed tactics to exploit the conditions which it anticipates will exist in Germany. The chapter considers the historical position of the German Communist Party in German politics, its present strength, and the plans by which it hopes to become a political force in post-war Germany. It also discusses the impact of the Free German movement on both the current policy and the future of the party. Finally, it reflects on the possible future role of the Communist Party in Germany.
Rachel Harris
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197262979
- eISBN:
- 9780191734717
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197262979.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Ethnomusicology, World Music
The Sibe are an immigrant group, Qing dynasty bannermen who made a three-year ‘long march’ from Manchuria in the 18th century to serve as a border garrison in the newly conquered Western Regions of ...
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The Sibe are an immigrant group, Qing dynasty bannermen who made a three-year ‘long march’ from Manchuria in the 18th century to serve as a border garrison in the newly conquered Western Regions of the Qing Chinese empire. They preserved their military structure and a discrete identity in the multi-ethnic region of Xinjiang and are now officially recognised as an ethnic minority nationality under the People's Republic. They are known in China today as the last speakers of the Manchu language, and as preservers of their ancient traditions. This study of their music culture reveals not fossilised tradition but a shifting web of borrowings, assimilation, and retention. It is an informed account of culture and performance in the Chinese region of Xinjiang. The book approaches musical and ritual life in this ethnically diverse region through an understanding of society in terms of negotiation, practice, and performance. It explores the relations between shamanism, song, and notions of externality and danger, bringing recent theories on shamanism to bear on questions of the structural and affective powers of ritual music. The book focuses on the historical demands of identity, boundary maintenance, and creation among the Sibe, and on the role of musical performance in maintaining popular memory, and it discusses the impact of state policies of the Chinese Communist Party on village musical and ritual life. It draws on a wide range of Chinese, Sibe-Manchu language sources, and oral sources including musical recordings and interviews gathered in the course of fieldwork in Xinjiang.Less
The Sibe are an immigrant group, Qing dynasty bannermen who made a three-year ‘long march’ from Manchuria in the 18th century to serve as a border garrison in the newly conquered Western Regions of the Qing Chinese empire. They preserved their military structure and a discrete identity in the multi-ethnic region of Xinjiang and are now officially recognised as an ethnic minority nationality under the People's Republic. They are known in China today as the last speakers of the Manchu language, and as preservers of their ancient traditions. This study of their music culture reveals not fossilised tradition but a shifting web of borrowings, assimilation, and retention. It is an informed account of culture and performance in the Chinese region of Xinjiang. The book approaches musical and ritual life in this ethnically diverse region through an understanding of society in terms of negotiation, practice, and performance. It explores the relations between shamanism, song, and notions of externality and danger, bringing recent theories on shamanism to bear on questions of the structural and affective powers of ritual music. The book focuses on the historical demands of identity, boundary maintenance, and creation among the Sibe, and on the role of musical performance in maintaining popular memory, and it discusses the impact of state policies of the Chinese Communist Party on village musical and ritual life. It draws on a wide range of Chinese, Sibe-Manchu language sources, and oral sources including musical recordings and interviews gathered in the course of fieldwork in Xinjiang.
Rabindra Ray
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198077381
- eISBN:
- 9780199081011
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198077381.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Race and Ethnicity
The Naxalite beginnings are by now history, and not a little nostalgia tinges the memory of these dreaded events. The leaders, the organizers, the spine, and the continuity of the movement are the ...
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The Naxalite beginnings are by now history, and not a little nostalgia tinges the memory of these dreaded events. The leaders, the organizers, the spine, and the continuity of the movement are the revolutionary intellectuals. The Naxalite movement is not principally a rural, agrarian problem as the doctrine of the Naxalites argues, but is a problem of the leading edge of the urban intelligentsia. Though the Naxalites take their name from the incident at Naxalbari in 1967, the defining attributes of the Naxalite view of revolution emerged only later. From the beginning, it was not the labouring poor of the nation or Bengal that Charu Mazumdar addressed, but, first, the disaffected revolutionary activists within the communist movement and, later, the ‘student–youth’. This book discusses the ideologies of the Naxalite terrorists, the terrorist in the Bengali society, the Communist Party of India, and the Indian economy.Less
The Naxalite beginnings are by now history, and not a little nostalgia tinges the memory of these dreaded events. The leaders, the organizers, the spine, and the continuity of the movement are the revolutionary intellectuals. The Naxalite movement is not principally a rural, agrarian problem as the doctrine of the Naxalites argues, but is a problem of the leading edge of the urban intelligentsia. Though the Naxalites take their name from the incident at Naxalbari in 1967, the defining attributes of the Naxalite view of revolution emerged only later. From the beginning, it was not the labouring poor of the nation or Bengal that Charu Mazumdar addressed, but, first, the disaffected revolutionary activists within the communist movement and, later, the ‘student–youth’. This book discusses the ideologies of the Naxalite terrorists, the terrorist in the Bengali society, the Communist Party of India, and the Indian economy.
Evan Mawdsley and Stephen White
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198297383
- eISBN:
- 9780191599842
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198297386.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Russian Politics
The Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party, which constituted the political elite of Soviet Russia, was in Lenin's time, relatively homogeneous and was entirely composed of people who had ...
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The Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party, which constituted the political elite of Soviet Russia, was in Lenin's time, relatively homogeneous and was entirely composed of people who had been members of the underground Bolshevik party. It is, however, possible to make some differentiation between members of this Central Committee elite, and two examples of ‘types’, one from the intelligentsia and one from the working class, are N. N. Krestinskii and A. A. Andreev. Even in this period, the Central Committee was not a policy‐making body, but all its members were important policymakers in other party and state organs.Less
The Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party, which constituted the political elite of Soviet Russia, was in Lenin's time, relatively homogeneous and was entirely composed of people who had been members of the underground Bolshevik party. It is, however, possible to make some differentiation between members of this Central Committee elite, and two examples of ‘types’, one from the intelligentsia and one from the working class, are N. N. Krestinskii and A. A. Andreev. Even in this period, the Central Committee was not a policy‐making body, but all its members were important policymakers in other party and state organs.
Alma Rachel Heckman
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- May 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780197266915
- eISBN:
- 9780191938177
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197266915.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, History of Religion
This chapter examines efforts of Jews and Muslims in Morocco to reconcile communism with Moroccan nationalism predicated on Islam, centered on the figure of the King as the amir al-mu’minin ...
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This chapter examines efforts of Jews and Muslims in Morocco to reconcile communism with Moroccan nationalism predicated on Islam, centered on the figure of the King as the amir al-mu’minin (Commander of the Faithful) through the long 1960s. The stakes for Jewish and Muslim communists in this setting were high, including the need to demonstrate authenticity and legitimacy of their political movement in the face of accusations of communism as a foreign, colonial, and thus inorganic movement within Morocco. The long 1960s included a major leftist student uprising in 1965, several constitutional crises, and two attempted coups, all of which heightened the existential tension of the Moroccan left within the Islamist monarchy.Less
This chapter examines efforts of Jews and Muslims in Morocco to reconcile communism with Moroccan nationalism predicated on Islam, centered on the figure of the King as the amir al-mu’minin (Commander of the Faithful) through the long 1960s. The stakes for Jewish and Muslim communists in this setting were high, including the need to demonstrate authenticity and legitimacy of their political movement in the face of accusations of communism as a foreign, colonial, and thus inorganic movement within Morocco. The long 1960s included a major leftist student uprising in 1965, several constitutional crises, and two attempted coups, all of which heightened the existential tension of the Moroccan left within the Islamist monarchy.
Martin Conway
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199694341
- eISBN:
- 9780191738401
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199694341.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
The period from the summer of 1945 to the first post-war elections in February 1946 saw the reconstruction of Belgian politics around the twin poles of the Socialist and Catholic parties. This ...
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The period from the summer of 1945 to the first post-war elections in February 1946 saw the reconstruction of Belgian politics around the twin poles of the Socialist and Catholic parties. This process involved organizational reconstruction of the two parties, their ideological redefinition, and their ‘recapture’ of their organizational hinterland of pillarized social institutions, such as their respective trade–union movements. Though mutually opposed, these two parties dominated the political stage. The Liberals remained as a minority third force, but the Communist Party failed to consolidate the advances it had made as a consequence of the war, while neither the supporters of the King (the Leopoldists) nor the Resistance established major political movements. Only the Christian Democrat grouping, the Union Démocrate belge, emerged as a small new political force.Less
The period from the summer of 1945 to the first post-war elections in February 1946 saw the reconstruction of Belgian politics around the twin poles of the Socialist and Catholic parties. This process involved organizational reconstruction of the two parties, their ideological redefinition, and their ‘recapture’ of their organizational hinterland of pillarized social institutions, such as their respective trade–union movements. Though mutually opposed, these two parties dominated the political stage. The Liberals remained as a minority third force, but the Communist Party failed to consolidate the advances it had made as a consequence of the war, while neither the supporters of the King (the Leopoldists) nor the Resistance established major political movements. Only the Christian Democrat grouping, the Union Démocrate belge, emerged as a small new political force.
Johan F. M. Swinnen
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199288915
- eISBN:
- 9780191603518
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199288917.003.0007
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter explains why reforms were possible during the 1970s in China under the Communist regime, but not in the Soviet Union. It argues that the reasons are a combination of a change in ...
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This chapter explains why reforms were possible during the 1970s in China under the Communist regime, but not in the Soviet Union. It argues that the reasons are a combination of a change in leadership and grassroots pressure. Different choices were made in China than in the Soviet Union because the countries had different initial conditions in the countryside, particularly in terms of technology, incomes and wealth, and the structure of the economy; all affected the choices of the Communist leadership and the actions of citizens.Less
This chapter explains why reforms were possible during the 1970s in China under the Communist regime, but not in the Soviet Union. It argues that the reasons are a combination of a change in leadership and grassroots pressure. Different choices were made in China than in the Soviet Union because the countries had different initial conditions in the countryside, particularly in terms of technology, incomes and wealth, and the structure of the economy; all affected the choices of the Communist leadership and the actions of citizens.
Patrick Major
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198206934
- eISBN:
- 9780191677397
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198206934.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History, Political History
Why was the West German Communist Party banned in 1956, only 11 years after it had emerged from Nazi persecution? Although politically weak, the post-war party was in ...
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Why was the West German Communist Party banned in 1956, only 11 years after it had emerged from Nazi persecution? Although politically weak, the post-war party was in fact larger than its Weimar predecessor and initially dominated works councils at the Ruhr pits and Hamburg docks, as well as the steel giant, Krupp. Under the control of East Berlin, however, the KPD was sent off on a series of overambitious and flawed campaigns to promote national unification and prevent West German rearmament. At the same time, the party was steadily criminalized by the Anglo-American occupiers, and ostracized by a heavily anti-communist society. The author has used material available only since the end of the Cold War, from both Communist archives in the former GDR as well as western intelligence, to trace the final decline and fall of the once-powerful KPD.Less
Why was the West German Communist Party banned in 1956, only 11 years after it had emerged from Nazi persecution? Although politically weak, the post-war party was in fact larger than its Weimar predecessor and initially dominated works councils at the Ruhr pits and Hamburg docks, as well as the steel giant, Krupp. Under the control of East Berlin, however, the KPD was sent off on a series of overambitious and flawed campaigns to promote national unification and prevent West German rearmament. At the same time, the party was steadily criminalized by the Anglo-American occupiers, and ostracized by a heavily anti-communist society. The author has used material available only since the end of the Cold War, from both Communist archives in the former GDR as well as western intelligence, to trace the final decline and fall of the once-powerful KPD.
Martin Conway
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199694341
- eISBN:
- 9780191738401
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199694341.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
The Liberation of Belgium by Allied troops in September was rapid and relatively bloodless. But it served as the prelude to a prolonged crisis of political power. The new government headed by Hubert ...
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The Liberation of Belgium by Allied troops in September was rapid and relatively bloodless. But it served as the prelude to a prolonged crisis of political power. The new government headed by Hubert Pierlot failed to establish its authority, and was increasingly challenged by the Communists and their Resistance allies, culminating in the March on Brussels on 25 November 1944. The Allied authorities, and the British in particular, assumed an increasingly central role in the governance of the country, as material conditions declined and the continuing threat from Nazi Germany was manifested by the Ardennes Offensive in December 1944. In the background, the problem of the conflict between the King and the political elite remained unresolved.Less
The Liberation of Belgium by Allied troops in September was rapid and relatively bloodless. But it served as the prelude to a prolonged crisis of political power. The new government headed by Hubert Pierlot failed to establish its authority, and was increasingly challenged by the Communists and their Resistance allies, culminating in the March on Brussels on 25 November 1944. The Allied authorities, and the British in particular, assumed an increasingly central role in the governance of the country, as material conditions declined and the continuing threat from Nazi Germany was manifested by the Ardennes Offensive in December 1944. In the background, the problem of the conflict between the King and the political elite remained unresolved.
Nicholas Owen
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199233014
- eISBN:
- 9780191716423
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199233014.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, Political History
This chapter looks at the most successful effort to build an alliance of the kind described in the previous chapter: the anti-fascist alliance built by Jawaharlal Nehru and parts of the Labour left, ...
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This chapter looks at the most successful effort to build an alliance of the kind described in the previous chapter: the anti-fascist alliance built by Jawaharlal Nehru and parts of the Labour left, and the Communist Party of Great Britain, in the late 1930s. Nehru's greater success in alliance-building in Britain is analysed and explained, and the organizational consequences of his approach — in particular the growing strength of V. K. Krishna Menon's India League, and the anti-fascist agreement co-sponsored by Stafford Cripps in 1938 — are traced. The chapter goes on to examine and explain the difficulties Nehru encountered in delivering the Indian side of the bargain in the early years of the Second World War, the failure of the Cripps Mission in 1942, and the consequent fragmentation of metropolitan anti-imperialism.Less
This chapter looks at the most successful effort to build an alliance of the kind described in the previous chapter: the anti-fascist alliance built by Jawaharlal Nehru and parts of the Labour left, and the Communist Party of Great Britain, in the late 1930s. Nehru's greater success in alliance-building in Britain is analysed and explained, and the organizational consequences of his approach — in particular the growing strength of V. K. Krishna Menon's India League, and the anti-fascist agreement co-sponsored by Stafford Cripps in 1938 — are traced. The chapter goes on to examine and explain the difficulties Nehru encountered in delivering the Indian side of the bargain in the early years of the Second World War, the failure of the Cripps Mission in 1942, and the consequent fragmentation of metropolitan anti-imperialism.
Stephen Howe
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198204237
- eISBN:
- 9780191676178
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198204237.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This book studies British anticolonialism, an offshoot of a massive global upsurge of sentiment which has dominated much of the history of the 20th century. This book ...
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This book studies British anticolonialism, an offshoot of a massive global upsurge of sentiment which has dominated much of the history of the 20th century. This book surveys the attitudes and activities relating to colonial issues of British critics of Empire during the years of decolonisation. It also evaluates the changing ways in which, arising out of the experience of Empire and decolonisation, more general ideas about imperialism, nationalism, and underdevelopment were developed during these years. The book's discussion encompasses both the left wing of the Labour Party and groups outside it: in the Communist Party, other independent left-wing groups, and single-issue campaigns. The book has contemporary relevance, for British reactions to more late 20th-century events — the Falklands and Gulf Wars, race relations, South African apartheid — cannot fully be understood except in the context of the experience of decolonisation and the legacy of Empire.Less
This book studies British anticolonialism, an offshoot of a massive global upsurge of sentiment which has dominated much of the history of the 20th century. This book surveys the attitudes and activities relating to colonial issues of British critics of Empire during the years of decolonisation. It also evaluates the changing ways in which, arising out of the experience of Empire and decolonisation, more general ideas about imperialism, nationalism, and underdevelopment were developed during these years. The book's discussion encompasses both the left wing of the Labour Party and groups outside it: in the Communist Party, other independent left-wing groups, and single-issue campaigns. The book has contemporary relevance, for British reactions to more late 20th-century events — the Falklands and Gulf Wars, race relations, South African apartheid — cannot fully be understood except in the context of the experience of decolonisation and the legacy of Empire.
Grunwald Henning
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199609048
- eISBN:
- 9780191744280
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199609048.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History, Political History
The chapter is a history of the Communist Party legal organization, which funded, administered, and publicized tens of thousands of political trials. Despite their professions of ideological ...
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The chapter is a history of the Communist Party legal organization, which funded, administered, and publicized tens of thousands of political trials. Despite their professions of ideological discipline, harnessing the often volatile, headstrong and individualistic party lawyers to a coherent political strategy proved tricky. The Communist Party pioneered the standardization of legal aid and the propagandistic exploitation of trials by ingeniously combining both in one in-house law office. The highly innovative KPD party legal organization grew rapidly and enjoyed a high visibility both within the party and outside it. Matching lawyers and cases, it used legal aid to monitor trials and disseminate the party's message, discipline defendants, and build up selected cases into high-profile publicity campaigns. The celebrated trial and rehabilitation campaign of Max Hölz, the ‘Communist Robin Hood’, is the main case study.Less
The chapter is a history of the Communist Party legal organization, which funded, administered, and publicized tens of thousands of political trials. Despite their professions of ideological discipline, harnessing the often volatile, headstrong and individualistic party lawyers to a coherent political strategy proved tricky. The Communist Party pioneered the standardization of legal aid and the propagandistic exploitation of trials by ingeniously combining both in one in-house law office. The highly innovative KPD party legal organization grew rapidly and enjoyed a high visibility both within the party and outside it. Matching lawyers and cases, it used legal aid to monitor trials and disseminate the party's message, discipline defendants, and build up selected cases into high-profile publicity campaigns. The celebrated trial and rehabilitation campaign of Max Hölz, the ‘Communist Robin Hood’, is the main case study.
Sudhir Hazareesingh
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198278702
- eISBN:
- 9780191684241
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198278702.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Examining the emergence and subsequent demise of intellectual identification with the French Communist Party between 1945 and 1989, this book argues that, after 1978, political conflicts between the ...
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Examining the emergence and subsequent demise of intellectual identification with the French Communist Party between 1945 and 1989, this book argues that, after 1978, political conflicts between the Communist leadership and party intellectuals led to an erosion of support. These conflicts were sharpened by the party's institutional decline during the 1980s. The author links these internal factors with wider ideological changes during the 1970s and 1980s: the decreasing relevance of class-based politics, the explosion of the myth of radical change, the reconsideration of the goals of political commitment, and, finally, the rejection of the Soviet model. All these factors contributed significantly to an altered political climate. Based on a critical examination of the available literature, in both French and English, this systematic exploration of the role of intellectuals in French politics also explains why this social group has been so prominent in public life throughout the modern era.Less
Examining the emergence and subsequent demise of intellectual identification with the French Communist Party between 1945 and 1989, this book argues that, after 1978, political conflicts between the Communist leadership and party intellectuals led to an erosion of support. These conflicts were sharpened by the party's institutional decline during the 1980s. The author links these internal factors with wider ideological changes during the 1970s and 1980s: the decreasing relevance of class-based politics, the explosion of the myth of radical change, the reconsideration of the goals of political commitment, and, finally, the rejection of the Soviet model. All these factors contributed significantly to an altered political climate. Based on a critical examination of the available literature, in both French and English, this systematic exploration of the role of intellectuals in French politics also explains why this social group has been so prominent in public life throughout the modern era.
Burnett Bolloten
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781469624464
- eISBN:
- 9781469624488
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469624464.003.0051
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter looks at the ways in which Indalecio Prieto had challenged the Communist predominance in state politics and the army. Although he had allied himself with the Communists against Largo ...
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This chapter looks at the ways in which Indalecio Prieto had challenged the Communist predominance in state politics and the army. Although he had allied himself with the Communists against Largo Caballero, he soon made it clear that he would not be their puppet. Vexing to the Communists was his reluctance to agree to a merger between the Socialist and Communist parties, his efforts to curb proselytism and political propaganda in the army as well as his campaigns to prevent the politicalization of the army, his restrictions on the rank of political commissar, among others. Undaunted by his efforts, the Communists attempted to disguise their activities and outmaneuver Prieto, though in any event, they would find it imperative to replace him.Less
This chapter looks at the ways in which Indalecio Prieto had challenged the Communist predominance in state politics and the army. Although he had allied himself with the Communists against Largo Caballero, he soon made it clear that he would not be their puppet. Vexing to the Communists was his reluctance to agree to a merger between the Socialist and Communist parties, his efforts to curb proselytism and political propaganda in the army as well as his campaigns to prevent the politicalization of the army, his restrictions on the rank of political commissar, among others. Undaunted by his efforts, the Communists attempted to disguise their activities and outmaneuver Prieto, though in any event, they would find it imperative to replace him.
Sudhir Hazareesingh
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198278702
- eISBN:
- 9780191684241
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198278702.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This chapter examines the condition and situation of the French Communist intellectuals in the wider tradition of political activity in France. Though the French Communist Party (PCF) occupied the ...
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This chapter examines the condition and situation of the French Communist intellectuals in the wider tradition of political activity in France. Though the French Communist Party (PCF) occupied the same terrain as the republican tradition, it was also deep-rooted in Leninist and syndicalist origins, which ensured that the initial political culture of French Communism differed in a number of ways to the core principles and values of republicanism. Thus, the position of intellectuals in the party differed considerably from the republican paradigm. Bourgeois were welcome in the party but they were kept away from the levers of power in the organization, and the party's leadership remained in the hands of working class political activists.Less
This chapter examines the condition and situation of the French Communist intellectuals in the wider tradition of political activity in France. Though the French Communist Party (PCF) occupied the same terrain as the republican tradition, it was also deep-rooted in Leninist and syndicalist origins, which ensured that the initial political culture of French Communism differed in a number of ways to the core principles and values of republicanism. Thus, the position of intellectuals in the party differed considerably from the republican paradigm. Bourgeois were welcome in the party but they were kept away from the levers of power in the organization, and the party's leadership remained in the hands of working class political activists.
