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.
Rabindra Ray
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198077381
- eISBN:
- 9780199081011
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198077381.003.0008
- Subject:
- Sociology, Race and Ethnicity
This chapter argues that the meaning the doctrine of the Naxalites appears to have for non-believers is different from what it had for the believers. This is patently indicated by the programme of ...
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This chapter argues that the meaning the doctrine of the Naxalites appears to have for non-believers is different from what it had for the believers. This is patently indicated by the programme of agrarian revolution linked to a policy of urban terror. Observers, sympathetic to the Naxalites, have upbraided them for their policy of ‘individual terror’, and have pointed out its incompatibility with the mass line entailed in the Marxist–Leninist theory of revolution to which the Naxalites vowed allegiance. The humanitarian appeal of the Naxalites is not only at odds with their inhuman methods, but with the experience of their own humanity. Their defence of communist dogma only develops as an attack on communist history and communist organizations. Their positive vision, that of Chairman’s China, is only fleshed out as the negativity of Revolution and the abyss of terror.Less
This chapter argues that the meaning the doctrine of the Naxalites appears to have for non-believers is different from what it had for the believers. This is patently indicated by the programme of agrarian revolution linked to a policy of urban terror. Observers, sympathetic to the Naxalites, have upbraided them for their policy of ‘individual terror’, and have pointed out its incompatibility with the mass line entailed in the Marxist–Leninist theory of revolution to which the Naxalites vowed allegiance. The humanitarian appeal of the Naxalites is not only at odds with their inhuman methods, but with the experience of their own humanity. Their defence of communist dogma only develops as an attack on communist history and communist organizations. Their positive vision, that of Chairman’s China, is only fleshed out as the negativity of Revolution and the abyss of terror.
Olivier Blanchard
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198293996
- eISBN:
- 9780191595998
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198293992.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic Systems
Transition in Central and Eastern Europe has led to a U‐shaped response of output, that is, a sharp decline in output followed by recovery. Six years after the beginning of transition, most of the ...
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Transition in Central and Eastern Europe has led to a U‐shaped response of output, that is, a sharp decline in output followed by recovery. Six years after the beginning of transition, most of the countries of Central Europe now seem firmly on the upside. Most of the countries of Eastern Europe are still close to the bottom of the U; an optimistic view is that they are now negotiating the turn.This U‐shaped response of output, its causes and its implications, is the subject of this book. That transition came with an often‐large initial decrease in output should be seen as a puzzle. After all, the previous economic system was characterized by myriad distortions. One might have expected that removing most of them would lead to a large increase, not decrease in output. This is not what happened. The purpose of this book is to understand why, and to draw general lessons.Less
Transition in Central and Eastern Europe has led to a U‐shaped response of output, that is, a sharp decline in output followed by recovery. Six years after the beginning of transition, most of the countries of Central Europe now seem firmly on the upside. Most of the countries of Eastern Europe are still close to the bottom of the U; an optimistic view is that they are now negotiating the turn.
This U‐shaped response of output, its causes and its implications, is the subject of this book. That transition came with an often‐large initial decrease in output should be seen as a puzzle. After all, the previous economic system was characterized by myriad distortions. One might have expected that removing most of them would lead to a large increase, not decrease in output. This is not what happened. The purpose of this book is to understand why, and to draw general lessons.
Peter Mair
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198295495
- eISBN:
- 9780191599804
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198295499.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This is the second of three chapters on political party systems and structures of competition, and looks at post-communist party systems in Europe. The author’s intention is to explore some ...
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This is the second of three chapters on political party systems and structures of competition, and looks at post-communist party systems in Europe. The author’s intention is to explore some preliminary thoughts on the specific characteristics of newly emerging party systems, and of newly emerging post-communist party systems in particular, and to identify the major reasons why these newly emerging systems may look and perform differently from established party systems. It is suggested that differences in the democratization process, in the character of the electorate, and in the context of competition, together create formidable obstacles in the path of eventual consolidation, and that these also imply a pattern of party competition likely to prove both more conflictual and adversarial than is the case within the established democracies. The approach has been to identify the sort of factors that have encouraged the stabilization and institutionalization of established party systems, and then to turn these on their head in order to hypothesize and speculate about the sort of factors likely to be absent from newly emerging party systems, and from post-communist party systems in particular. The discussion is presented in five sections: (1) Newly Emerging Party Systems; (2) Post-Communist Democratization is Different; (3) The Electorate and the Parties are Different; (4) The Context of Competition is Different; and (5) The Pattern of Competition is Different.Less
This is the second of three chapters on political party systems and structures of competition, and looks at post-communist party systems in Europe. The author’s intention is to explore some preliminary thoughts on the specific characteristics of newly emerging party systems, and of newly emerging post-communist party systems in particular, and to identify the major reasons why these newly emerging systems may look and perform differently from established party systems. It is suggested that differences in the democratization process, in the character of the electorate, and in the context of competition, together create formidable obstacles in the path of eventual consolidation, and that these also imply a pattern of party competition likely to prove both more conflictual and adversarial than is the case within the established democracies. The approach has been to identify the sort of factors that have encouraged the stabilization and institutionalization of established party systems, and then to turn these on their head in order to hypothesize and speculate about the sort of factors likely to be absent from newly emerging party systems, and from post-communist party systems in particular. The discussion is presented in five sections: (1) Newly Emerging Party Systems; (2) Post-Communist Democratization is Different; (3) The Electorate and the Parties are Different; (4) The Context of Competition is Different; and (5) The Pattern of Competition is Different.
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.
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.
Stephen Whitefield and Geoffrey Evans
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199244096
- eISBN:
- 9780191600371
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019924409X.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
Addresses issues concerning attitudes towards the West, democracy, and the market. The first one is the extent of Western involvement and influence in the transformation as against internal and ...
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Addresses issues concerning attitudes towards the West, democracy, and the market. The first one is the extent of Western involvement and influence in the transformation as against internal and domestic forces. The second is the extent to which elite views of the West—and their commitment to transition—have persisted in the face of the transition experience itself, including the success or failure of the market and the integration of the post‐communist state in Western economic and military structures. The chapter concentrates on the stance taken by mass publics of Eastern Europe, and, in particular, on their attitudes towards key aspects of the transition and the ways in which these are linked with their views of Western involvement. The chapter advances three propositions: (1) democratization as an exit from communism made it highly likely that the economic correlate would be the market rather than state economic control; and vice versa; (2) the geographical location of the communist bloc and the nature of its political, strategic, and economic rivalries made it likely that this exit would entail a shift to the West; (3) those most in favour of transition and most opposed to the communist order were more likely to wish to be become part of the West and its democratic and market structures. The chapter addresses those arguments by testing six hypotheses using data of national probability samples of the populations of Belarus, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine.Less
Addresses issues concerning attitudes towards the West, democracy, and the market. The first one is the extent of Western involvement and influence in the transformation as against internal and domestic forces. The second is the extent to which elite views of the West—and their commitment to transition—have persisted in the face of the transition experience itself, including the success or failure of the market and the integration of the post‐communist state in Western economic and military structures. The chapter concentrates on the stance taken by mass publics of Eastern Europe, and, in particular, on their attitudes towards key aspects of the transition and the ways in which these are linked with their views of Western involvement. The chapter advances three propositions: (1) democratization as an exit from communism made it highly likely that the economic correlate would be the market rather than state economic control; and vice versa; (2) the geographical location of the communist bloc and the nature of its political, strategic, and economic rivalries made it likely that this exit would entail a shift to the West; (3) those most in favour of transition and most opposed to the communist order were more likely to wish to be become part of the West and its democratic and market structures. The chapter addresses those arguments by testing six hypotheses using data of national probability samples of the populations of Belarus, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine.
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.
Milada Anna Vachudova
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199241194
- eISBN:
- 9780191602382
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199241198.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
The empirical variation between the political trajectories of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, on the one hand, and Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia, on the other, is striking in the early ...
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The empirical variation between the political trajectories of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, on the one hand, and Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia, on the other, is striking in the early 1990s. The presence or absence of an opposition to communism strong enough to take and hold power in 1989 put the first group of states on the road to liberal democracy, and the second group on the road to illiberal democracy. This chapter compares the two groups of states in three areas: the nature of the opposition to communism and of the regime change in 1989; the political, economic, and national policies of the first post-communist governments; and the quality of the left alternative available to voters after1989.Less
The empirical variation between the political trajectories of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, on the one hand, and Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia, on the other, is striking in the early 1990s. The presence or absence of an opposition to communism strong enough to take and hold power in 1989 put the first group of states on the road to liberal democracy, and the second group on the road to illiberal democracy. This chapter compares the two groups of states in three areas: the nature of the opposition to communism and of the regime change in 1989; the political, economic, and national policies of the first post-communist governments; and the quality of the left alternative available to voters after1989.
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.
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:
- 10.1093/0198297386.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Russian Politics
Across the years of its existence, the USSR witnessed three elite revolutions: in 1917, when the Tsarist elite was replaced by a Bolshevik elite of professional revolutionaries; during the Purges, ...
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Across the years of its existence, the USSR witnessed three elite revolutions: in 1917, when the Tsarist elite was replaced by a Bolshevik elite of professional revolutionaries; during the Purges, when the ‘second generation’ moved into positions of power; and under Gorbachev, when levels of turnover in the Central Committee were at their highest, although they were not sufficient to bring many of the ‘fourth generation’ into the political elite. Considerable numbers of the Central Committee membership, however, retained their status into the post‐communist years, and they took part in a wider transition from political position (which had become insecure) to the more enduring advantage of property.Less
Across the years of its existence, the USSR witnessed three elite revolutions: in 1917, when the Tsarist elite was replaced by a Bolshevik elite of professional revolutionaries; during the Purges, when the ‘second generation’ moved into positions of power; and under Gorbachev, when levels of turnover in the Central Committee were at their highest, although they were not sufficient to bring many of the ‘fourth generation’ into the political elite. Considerable numbers of the Central Committee membership, however, retained their status into the post‐communist years, and they took part in a wider transition from political position (which had become insecure) to the more enduring advantage of property.
Richard E. Matland and Kathleen A. Montgomery (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199246861
- eISBN:
- 9780191601965
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199246866.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This book presents 12 case studies on female legislative representation in new post-communist democracies in Europe. The cases represent a wide range of “pathways” from communist rule. Five rank as ...
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This book presents 12 case studies on female legislative representation in new post-communist democracies in Europe. The cases represent a wide range of “pathways” from communist rule. Five rank as lower-middle income (Bulgaria, Lithuania, Macedonia, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine), four as upper-middle income (Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland, and two as high-income (Germany and Slovenia). A general framework on legislative recruitment based on Western political science literature is used to explain changes over time within each country. It is shown that many of the theoretical predictions based on existing literature from industrialized democracies hold true in Eastern Europe. The book ends with a discussion on the next steps to take in understanding women’s access to political power in post-communist Europe.Less
This book presents 12 case studies on female legislative representation in new post-communist democracies in Europe. The cases represent a wide range of “pathways” from communist rule. Five rank as lower-middle income (Bulgaria, Lithuania, Macedonia, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine), four as upper-middle income (Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland, and two as high-income (Germany and Slovenia). A general framework on legislative recruitment based on Western political science literature is used to explain changes over time within each country. It is shown that many of the theoretical predictions based on existing literature from industrialized democracies hold true in Eastern Europe. The book ends with a discussion on the next steps to take in understanding women’s access to political power in post-communist Europe.
Carmen González‐Enríquez
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199240906
- eISBN:
- 9780191598869
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199240906.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
An exploration is made of the nature and scope of de-communization and political justice in Czechoslovakia (the Czech Republic, Slovakia), Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and Hungary, to each of ...
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An exploration is made of the nature and scope of de-communization and political justice in Czechoslovakia (the Czech Republic, Slovakia), Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and Hungary, to each of which a section of the chapter is devoted. The term ‘political justice’ is here meant to refer to proceedings held to try crimes (generally related to political repression) committed by outgoing regimes. With the exception of Albania, transitions to democracy in these countries were initiated in 1989, and in all cases, great political tensions arose from demands for the punishment of former communist authorities and those responsible for political repression. These demands formed part of a wider political and cultural process, namely the reworking of public discourse on the nature of the communist regime, and their nature and results varied considerably from country to country; for example, only two – the former Czechoslovakia and Albania – actually carried out purges that affected large numbers of people. This chapter attempts to answer to two main questions: (1) what explains the differences in the scope and nature of the policies adopted, and (2) what impact have they had on the process of democratization. The focus is on the rationality of the political actors or the role that anti-communist campaigns had in shaping political competition, rather than the moral and legal debates surrounding the issue.Less
An exploration is made of the nature and scope of de-communization and political justice in Czechoslovakia (the Czech Republic, Slovakia), Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and Hungary, to each of which a section of the chapter is devoted. The term ‘political justice’ is here meant to refer to proceedings held to try crimes (generally related to political repression) committed by outgoing regimes. With the exception of Albania, transitions to democracy in these countries were initiated in 1989, and in all cases, great political tensions arose from demands for the punishment of former communist authorities and those responsible for political repression. These demands formed part of a wider political and cultural process, namely the reworking of public discourse on the nature of the communist regime, and their nature and results varied considerably from country to country; for example, only two – the former Czechoslovakia and Albania – actually carried out purges that affected large numbers of people. This chapter attempts to answer to two main questions: (1) what explains the differences in the scope and nature of the policies adopted, and (2) what impact have they had on the process of democratization. The focus is on the rationality of the political actors or the role that anti-communist campaigns had in shaping political competition, rather than the moral and legal debates surrounding the issue.
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.
Wojciech Sadurski
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199244089
- eISBN:
- 9780191600364
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199244081.003.0017
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
The concluding chapter concentrates on the importance of institutions in the democratic consolidation of post‐communist Eastern Europe. The chapter is divided into four parts that address issues ...
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The concluding chapter concentrates on the importance of institutions in the democratic consolidation of post‐communist Eastern Europe. The chapter is divided into four parts that address issues concerning the importance of institutions in this process. The first section describes the ways in which institutions can affect political life by changing the pattern of incentives for particular behaviour by political actors. The second part shows how constitutions influence national identity by defining state citizenship. The third section refers to the activity of constitution‐making and how this process has taken place in Eastern Europe. The fourth part discusses how constitutions in Eastern Europe are transforming the way political demands, claims, and arguments are made by political actors.Less
The concluding chapter concentrates on the importance of institutions in the democratic consolidation of post‐communist Eastern Europe. The chapter is divided into four parts that address issues concerning the importance of institutions in this process. The first section describes the ways in which institutions can affect political life by changing the pattern of incentives for particular behaviour by political actors. The second part shows how constitutions influence national identity by defining state citizenship. The third section refers to the activity of constitution‐making and how this process has taken place in Eastern Europe. The fourth part discusses how constitutions in Eastern Europe are transforming the way political demands, claims, and arguments are made by political actors.
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.
