Ivana Markova (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197263136
- eISBN:
- 9780191734922
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197263136.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
The ten chapters in this book are concerned with theoretical and empirical analyses of trust and distrust in post-Communist Europe after the collapse of the Soviet bloc in 1989. The contributors come ...
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The ten chapters in this book are concerned with theoretical and empirical analyses of trust and distrust in post-Communist Europe after the collapse of the Soviet bloc in 1989. The contributors come from different disciplines, ranging from history, economics, and political science to social psychology and sociology, and they show, above all, that the Soviet ‘bloc’ was in fact a rich spectrum of different countries with diverse histories, cultures, and traditions, and–not surprisingly–with different expectations for the future. Like other social concepts, trust never makes sense in isolation but only within the network of other concepts–in this case, social capital, faith, belief, solidarity, reciprocity, and security. ‘Trust’ is a highly polysemic term. Differences between meanings of trust in countries with democratic traditions and in post-totalitarian countries raise questions about the ways in which history, culture, and social psychology shape the nature and development of political phenomena. These questions include: antinomies such as trust versus risk, and trust versus fear; the co-existence of rural and urban systems; legitimacy of different political regimes; and the arbitrariness of decisions and the abuse of common sense in totalitarianism. The transition period in many post-Communist countries has now been completed and in others it is likely to be completed in the near future. Yet the chapters show that while political and economic changes can have rapid effects, cultural and psychological changes may linger and influence the quality of political trust and representations of democracy.Less
The ten chapters in this book are concerned with theoretical and empirical analyses of trust and distrust in post-Communist Europe after the collapse of the Soviet bloc in 1989. The contributors come from different disciplines, ranging from history, economics, and political science to social psychology and sociology, and they show, above all, that the Soviet ‘bloc’ was in fact a rich spectrum of different countries with diverse histories, cultures, and traditions, and–not surprisingly–with different expectations for the future. Like other social concepts, trust never makes sense in isolation but only within the network of other concepts–in this case, social capital, faith, belief, solidarity, reciprocity, and security. ‘Trust’ is a highly polysemic term. Differences between meanings of trust in countries with democratic traditions and in post-totalitarian countries raise questions about the ways in which history, culture, and social psychology shape the nature and development of political phenomena. These questions include: antinomies such as trust versus risk, and trust versus fear; the co-existence of rural and urban systems; legitimacy of different political regimes; and the arbitrariness of decisions and the abuse of common sense in totalitarianism. The transition period in many post-Communist countries has now been completed and in others it is likely to be completed in the near future. Yet the chapters show that while political and economic changes can have rapid effects, cultural and psychological changes may linger and influence the quality of political trust and representations of democracy.
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.
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.
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.
Jagdish Bhagwati
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198288473
- eISBN:
- 9780191684609
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198288473.003.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, South and East Asia
This chapter begins by discussing the reasons why this volume was created. It then details India's economic situation in the 1960s. Next, it tells of the author's account of the sad turn of events in ...
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This chapter begins by discussing the reasons why this volume was created. It then details India's economic situation in the 1960s. Next, it tells of the author's account of the sad turn of events in India and how he was described by the Communist Party as a ‘marginal’ economist with intended double entendre. Lastly, the chapter describes the reforms that transpired in India's economy.Less
This chapter begins by discussing the reasons why this volume was created. It then details India's economic situation in the 1960s. Next, it tells of the author's account of the sad turn of events in India and how he was described by the Communist Party as a ‘marginal’ economist with intended double entendre. Lastly, the chapter describes the reforms that transpired in India's economy.
Evan Mawdsley and Stephen White
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198297383
- eISBN:
- 9780191599842
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198297386.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Russian Politics
The USSR was dominated by its ruling Communist Party, and the party was in turn dominated by a political elite that was represented in its Central Committee. Nearly two thousand individuals were ...
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The USSR was dominated by its ruling Communist Party, and the party was in turn dominated by a political elite that was represented in its Central Committee. Nearly two thousand individuals were members of the Central Committee between 1917 and 1991, who may be divided into four distinct political generations from the professional revolutionaries born in the late nineteenth century to the post‐war generation that was beginning to enter the political elite in the Gorbachev years. There were considerable variations over time in the characteristics of the Central Committee, including the extent to which its membership was replaced at successive party congresses. But a close relationship developed between particular occupational positions and Central Committee membership, a ‘job‐slot’ system that lasted until the final years of communist rule. The Central Committee as an institution was generally marginal to the political process. But it met more frequently and took more decisions in the 1920s and late 1980s, and on several occasions, its meetings were decisive in resolving leadership conflicts; they also ventilated policy alternatives, and sometimes disagreements. In the last years of communist rule, the elite sought increasingly to transform their positions of political power into the more enduring advantage of property, and this allowed many of them to maintain their elite status into the post‐communist period. As well as printed sources, the study draws on recently opened party archives and about a hundred interviews with members of the Brezhnev‐era Central Committee.Less
The USSR was dominated by its ruling Communist Party, and the party was in turn dominated by a political elite that was represented in its Central Committee. Nearly two thousand individuals were members of the Central Committee between 1917 and 1991, who may be divided into four distinct political generations from the professional revolutionaries born in the late nineteenth century to the post‐war generation that was beginning to enter the political elite in the Gorbachev years. There were considerable variations over time in the characteristics of the Central Committee, including the extent to which its membership was replaced at successive party congresses. But a close relationship developed between particular occupational positions and Central Committee membership, a ‘job‐slot’ system that lasted until the final years of communist rule. The Central Committee as an institution was generally marginal to the political process. But it met more frequently and took more decisions in the 1920s and late 1980s, and on several occasions, its meetings were decisive in resolving leadership conflicts; they also ventilated policy alternatives, and sometimes disagreements. In the last years of communist rule, the elite sought increasingly to transform their positions of political power into the more enduring advantage of property, and this allowed many of them to maintain their elite status into the post‐communist period. As well as printed sources, the study draws on recently opened party archives and about a hundred interviews with members of the Brezhnev‐era Central Committee.
Alex Pravda
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199276141
- eISBN:
- 9780191603341
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199276145.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Russian Politics
This chapter begins with descriptions of the life and accomplishments of Archie Brown, Britain’s foremost expert on Russian politics. In the last 40 years, Brown has gained international recognition ...
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This chapter begins with descriptions of the life and accomplishments of Archie Brown, Britain’s foremost expert on Russian politics. In the last 40 years, Brown has gained international recognition for his scholarly work on leadership and political change in Soviet and post-Soviet Russia. Brown’s insights into the sources of within-system reform, the role of Gorbachev in transforming Soviet Communism, and leadership and democratisation in post-Communist Russia are discussed.Less
This chapter begins with descriptions of the life and accomplishments of Archie Brown, Britain’s foremost expert on Russian politics. In the last 40 years, Brown has gained international recognition for his scholarly work on leadership and political change in Soviet and post-Soviet Russia. Brown’s insights into the sources of within-system reform, the role of Gorbachev in transforming Soviet Communism, and leadership and democratisation in post-Communist Russia are discussed.
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.
Jeffrey Kahn
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199246991
- eISBN:
- 9780191599606
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199246998.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Russian Politics
Although most scholars were quick to puncture the Soviet Union's sham claims to democracy, too many accepted at face value its claim to be a federal state. The shifting debates about federalism in ...
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Although most scholars were quick to puncture the Soviet Union's sham claims to democracy, too many accepted at face value its claim to be a federal state. The shifting debates about federalism in Bolshevik doctrine and communist theory are explored. The formation, systematization, and stagnation of the so‐called ‘Soviet federalism’ is examined and debunked through analysis of the constitutions and political realities that existed under Lenin, Stalin, and Brezhnev.Less
Although most scholars were quick to puncture the Soviet Union's sham claims to democracy, too many accepted at face value its claim to be a federal state. The shifting debates about federalism in Bolshevik doctrine and communist theory are explored. The formation, systematization, and stagnation of the so‐called ‘Soviet federalism’ is examined and debunked through analysis of the constitutions and political realities that existed under Lenin, Stalin, and Brezhnev.
Rui Zhang
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789622098855
- eISBN:
- 9789882207523
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789622098855.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
Beginning first as a case study of Feng Xiaogang, this book explores Chinese film history since the early 1990s in terms of changes in the Communist Party's film policy, industry reforms, the ...
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Beginning first as a case study of Feng Xiaogang, this book explores Chinese film history since the early 1990s in terms of changes in the Communist Party's film policy, industry reforms, the official promotion of Main Melody films, and the emergence and growth of popular cinema. The image of Feng that emerges in the book is of a filmmaker working under political and economic pressures in a post-socialist state while still striving to create works with a personal socio-political agenda. In keeping with this reality, the book approaches Feng as a special kind of film auteur, whose works must be interpreted with attention to the specific social and political context of contemporary China.Less
Beginning first as a case study of Feng Xiaogang, this book explores Chinese film history since the early 1990s in terms of changes in the Communist Party's film policy, industry reforms, the official promotion of Main Melody films, and the emergence and growth of popular cinema. The image of Feng that emerges in the book is of a filmmaker working under political and economic pressures in a post-socialist state while still striving to create works with a personal socio-political agenda. In keeping with this reality, the book approaches Feng as a special kind of film auteur, whose works must be interpreted with attention to the specific social and political context of contemporary China.
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.
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:
- 10.1093/0192880527.003.0006
- 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.
Ruru Li
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789622099944
- eISBN:
- 9789882207394
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789622099944.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
Any traditional theatre has to engage the changing world to avoid becoming a living fossil. How has Beijing Opera — a highly stylized theatre with breath-taking acrobatics and martial arts, fabulous ...
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Any traditional theatre has to engage the changing world to avoid becoming a living fossil. How has Beijing Opera — a highly stylized theatre with breath-taking acrobatics and martial arts, fabulous costumes and striking makeup — survived into the new millennium while coping with a century of great upheavals and competition from new entertainment forms? This book answers that question, looking at the evolution of singing and performance styles, make-up and costume, audience demands, as well as stage and street presentation modes amid tumultuous social and political changes. The author's study follows a number of major artists' careers in mainland China and Taiwan, drawing on primary print sources as well as personal interviews with performers and their cultural peers. One chapter focuses on the career of the author's own mother and how she adapted to changes in Communist ideology. In addition, the book explores how performers as social beings have responded to conflicts between tradition and modernity, and between convention and innovation. Through performers' negotiation and compromises, Beijing Opera has undergone constant re-examination of its inner artistic logic and adjusted to the demands of the external world.Less
Any traditional theatre has to engage the changing world to avoid becoming a living fossil. How has Beijing Opera — a highly stylized theatre with breath-taking acrobatics and martial arts, fabulous costumes and striking makeup — survived into the new millennium while coping with a century of great upheavals and competition from new entertainment forms? This book answers that question, looking at the evolution of singing and performance styles, make-up and costume, audience demands, as well as stage and street presentation modes amid tumultuous social and political changes. The author's study follows a number of major artists' careers in mainland China and Taiwan, drawing on primary print sources as well as personal interviews with performers and their cultural peers. One chapter focuses on the career of the author's own mother and how she adapted to changes in Communist ideology. In addition, the book explores how performers as social beings have responded to conflicts between tradition and modernity, and between convention and innovation. Through performers' negotiation and compromises, Beijing Opera has undergone constant re-examination of its inner artistic logic and adjusted to the demands of the external world.
Will Kymlicka and Magda Opalski (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199248155
- eISBN:
- 9780191602955
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019924815X.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This book explores recent work by Western liberal theorists on ethnocultural pluralism, and shows Western liberals that conventional ways of distinguishing between ethnic relations in the East and ...
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This book explores recent work by Western liberal theorists on ethnocultural pluralism, and shows Western liberals that conventional ways of distinguishing between ethnic relations in the East and West do not help in understanding or responding to ethnic conflicts in the post-Communist world. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 presents a paper by Will Kymlicka entitled ‘Western Political Theory and Ethnic Relations in Eastern Europe’. Part 2 features 15 replies and commentaries on this paper, mostly by scholars and writers in Eastern Europe. Part 3 presents a reply by Kymlicka, which examines some of the specific issues raised in the commentaries, and reflects on the exportability of Western political theory to newly-democratizing countries.Less
This book explores recent work by Western liberal theorists on ethnocultural pluralism, and shows Western liberals that conventional ways of distinguishing between ethnic relations in the East and West do not help in understanding or responding to ethnic conflicts in the post-Communist world. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 presents a paper by Will Kymlicka entitled ‘Western Political Theory and Ethnic Relations in Eastern Europe’. Part 2 features 15 replies and commentaries on this paper, mostly by scholars and writers in Eastern Europe. Part 3 presents a reply by Kymlicka, which examines some of the specific issues raised in the commentaries, and reflects on the exportability of Western political theory to newly-democratizing countries.
Venelin I. Ganev
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199244089
- eISBN:
- 9780191600364
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199244081.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
Argues that institutional engineering in Bulgaria reflects the enduring legacies of communism, such as inability to solve social problems or to improve the level of economic prosperity. Using ...
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Argues that institutional engineering in Bulgaria reflects the enduring legacies of communism, such as inability to solve social problems or to improve the level of economic prosperity. Using Bulgaria as an example, the author delineates the limits of constitutionalism as a tool in the process of democratic consolidation. The chapter views institutional engineering in Bulgaria as a multifaceted social project and suggests a more subtle analysis of the peculiar ways in which a post‐communist context tolerates both elite constraints and elite irresponsibility, the institutionalization of governance, and the endurance of corruption.Less
Argues that institutional engineering in Bulgaria reflects the enduring legacies of communism, such as inability to solve social problems or to improve the level of economic prosperity. Using Bulgaria as an example, the author delineates the limits of constitutionalism as a tool in the process of democratic consolidation. The chapter views institutional engineering in Bulgaria as a multifaceted social project and suggests a more subtle analysis of the peculiar ways in which a post‐communist context tolerates both elite constraints and elite irresponsibility, the institutionalization of governance, and the endurance of corruption.
Maryjane Osa
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199251780
- eISBN:
- 9780191599057
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199251789.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Explores changes in the informal networks of overlapping memberships between opposition organizations in Poland between the 1960s and the 1980s. When civic organizations are subject to severe ...
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Explores changes in the informal networks of overlapping memberships between opposition organizations in Poland between the 1960s and the 1980s. When civic organizations are subject to severe constraints, as in Communist regimes, informal networks are particularly important as alternative sources of resources. There, networks not only operate as micro‐mobilization contexts but also provide the basic infrastructure for civil society. The chapter explicitly takes the time dimension into account, using individual affiliations to chart the evolution of networks over time, and offering an accurate reconstruction of changes in the Polish political system and the emergence of a strong democratization movement.Less
Explores changes in the informal networks of overlapping memberships between opposition organizations in Poland between the 1960s and the 1980s. When civic organizations are subject to severe constraints, as in Communist regimes, informal networks are particularly important as alternative sources of resources. There, networks not only operate as micro‐mobilization contexts but also provide the basic infrastructure for civil society. The chapter explicitly takes the time dimension into account, using individual affiliations to chart the evolution of networks over time, and offering an accurate reconstruction of changes in the Polish political system and the emergence of a strong democratization movement.
Lawrence P. King
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199206483
- eISBN:
- 9780191709715
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199206483.003.0011
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Political Economy
This chapter argues that any incorporation of the CEE economies into the VoC framework must take into account two fundamental features of these economic systems: an almost complete lack of ...
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This chapter argues that any incorporation of the CEE economies into the VoC framework must take into account two fundamental features of these economic systems: an almost complete lack of working-class political mobilization and a completely outdated technological structure. As a result, there is great reliance on foreign investors and foreign purchasers for providing technology transfer and the training of manpower. The chapter conceptualizes this VoC as ‘liberal dependent post-communist capitalism’ to highlight the liberal nature of the state and the dependent nature of the economy. In most the rest of the post-communist world, foreign direct investment, or FDI, and foreign manufacturers play a much smaller role. Instead, patron-client relationships ensnare major enterprises, leading to a decomposition of the bureaucratic (in the Weberian sense of the term) nature of the state. This produces a different variety of post-communist capitalism.Less
This chapter argues that any incorporation of the CEE economies into the VoC framework must take into account two fundamental features of these economic systems: an almost complete lack of working-class political mobilization and a completely outdated technological structure. As a result, there is great reliance on foreign investors and foreign purchasers for providing technology transfer and the training of manpower. The chapter conceptualizes this VoC as ‘liberal dependent post-communist capitalism’ to highlight the liberal nature of the state and the dependent nature of the economy. In most the rest of the post-communist world, foreign direct investment, or FDI, and foreign manufacturers play a much smaller role. Instead, patron-client relationships ensnare major enterprises, leading to a decomposition of the bureaucratic (in the Weberian sense of the term) nature of the state. This produces a different variety of post-communist capitalism.
Will Kymlicka and Magda Opalski
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199248155
- eISBN:
- 9780191602955
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019924815X.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This introductory chapter explains the objectives of this book, mainly to explore the recent work of Western liberal theorists on the issues of pluralism and minority rights in post-Communist ...
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This introductory chapter explains the objectives of this book, mainly to explore the recent work of Western liberal theorists on the issues of pluralism and minority rights in post-Communist countries of Eastern and Central Europe. It seeks to answer the question of whether Western models of liberal pluralism can contribute to the democratisation and stabilization of post-Communist Europe. An overview of the papers included in this volume is presented.Less
This introductory chapter explains the objectives of this book, mainly to explore the recent work of Western liberal theorists on the issues of pluralism and minority rights in post-Communist countries of Eastern and Central Europe. It seeks to answer the question of whether Western models of liberal pluralism can contribute to the democratisation and stabilization of post-Communist Europe. An overview of the papers included in this volume is presented.
