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Examines the internationalization of crime and corruption in post‐communist states and its serious implications for both established democracies and democratizing countries. The main hypothesis is that the post‐communist regimes have experienced legitimacy problems because of popular perceptions that the new putatively democratizing systems are often too tolerant of the new criminality, and in some cases directly involved with benefiting from it. The section of the chapter provides a brief overview of the crime situation in the region, highlighting changes in the incidence of crime. The second and third parts of the chapter are concerned with the rise of crime in terms of the interplay of domestic and international/transnational factors. In the fourth section, the implications of the rise of crime for the whole democratization and transition project are assessed. The fifth section provides an overview of international responses to crime in Central Eastern Europe and Former Soviet Union states. The conclusions to the chapter locate the criminalization issue in the broader context of the problems besetting post‐communist transition and democratic consolidation.

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.

The concluding chapter identifies a set of variables responsible for the enormous impact of external factors on democratic consolidation in Eastern Europe: (1) the historical legacy, (2) the liberal‐democratic ideological paradigm, and (3) the forces of globalization. Next, it conceptualizes the interplay of external and internal factors impinging upon democracy and assesses positive and negative kinds of external impacts on democracy. The chapter concludes with an evaluation of the conscious Western effort to craft or engineer democracy in Eastern Europe. Despite inconsistent signals and the lack of a broader strategic design for Europe, the West has succeeded in creating an environment conducive to democratic reform in the post‐communist arena. Linking membership of western institutions to democracy and other reforms has been a characteristic feature of this crafting effort.

This chapter compares the ten post-communist members of the EU in terms of the dimensions detailed in the preceding chapters. To make the comparison intelligible, those dimensions are reorganized as follows: (1) the legislative framework pertaining to religion and religious life; (2) the powers and responsibilities assumed by the governmental agencies in charge of religious affairs; (3) the ease with which religious denominations gained official recognition from the state, and the differences among churches imposed upon by the authorities, the different tiers at which denominations could register, and the advantages resulting from such registration; and (4) the manner in which religious instruction was delivered in public schools. The aim is to understand more fully the ways in which church and state, religious and political actors have come together in these countries after the collapse of the communist regime, during their transition to democracy, and during the first years after they joined the EU. The chapter then identifies the areas of church-state relations that fall short of the “twin toleration” principle, with a view to identifying the cases where reforms are needed and to bring these countries closer to democratic standards.

This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of church-state relations in the countries in the original European Union (EU). It then sets out the purpose of the book, which is to investigate church-state relations in the enlarged EU resulting from the acceptance of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Slovenia in 2004, and of Bulgaria and Romania in 2007. The chapter addresses important questions such as: What are the broad patterns of church-state relations in these countries? How did these models grow historically, how were they reshaped by communist policies, and how have they evolved in the pre-accession stage? How significantly different are these models from church-state relations in established Western democracies? Will the new EU members' ability to consolidate democracy be hampered by their church-state relations? The religious make-up of these post-communist EU member states is also described.

The success of the Bolshevik Revolution leads many in America to seek out the reasons for its success, as a lesson for their own country. The American Communist Party is founded in 1919. It goes through a set of policy changes until in 1930 Earl Browder is named General Secretary. He tries to develop the Party as a more natively American force – in 1936 he runs for President on the slogan ‘Communism is Twentieth Century Americanism.’ During the 1930’s the Part is a notable presence in various aspects of American politics. This comes to naught, for after Roosevelt’s death in 1945, the Soviets reassert control of the American Party, the leadership of which, apart from Browder, capitulate to Moscow. Truman succeeds Roosevelt and the grounds for the Cold War are laid.

This chapter is concerned with the organizational characteristics that give the communist state the capacity to shape worker political association and activity in distinctive ways. Corporatism ideally seeks to manage the associated conflicts for the good of the nation; communism seeks to reorganize society in such a way that private interest groups cannot find organized expression or even a clear social identity. The Chinese party-state is represented in the factory by two organizations that shape political relationships and interests right down to the shop floor. The discretion exercised jointly by the shop director and party branch secretary appears to be a throwback to the foreman's empire of the contracting era of factory production in many parts of the world. The chapter then compares Stalinist and Maoist mobilization. The Chinese party appears genuinely to have viewed the moral cultivation of citizens as the only effective way to generate commitment and obedience.

This chapter considers the claim by New York City Teachers Union (TU) opponents and some scholars that the main objective of the Communist-controlled union was not to protect the interest of teachers but to carry out the dictates of the Soviet Union. It first examines the Communist Party of the United States of America's (CPUSA) efforts to form an antifascist popular front and the TU's relationship with popular front politics before discussing the arguments of TU defenders who ignore the CPUSA's influence on the union. It then cites evidence showing that the union supported CPUSA policies, and that its position on certain issues was indistinguishable from that of the Party. However, it argues that the TU did not ignore teachers' interests, as its Communist leadership fought for higher wages, better working conditions, and academic freedom. While supportive of Moscow, the chapter contends that the TU also worked to improve working conditions for teachers. In conclusion, it says the union blurred the line between its work on behalf of teachers and pushing CPUSA policies.

The post-communist states of Central and Eastern Europe have embraced, almost without reservation, the power of constitutional courts to strike down legislation under constitutional charters of rights. While there have been occasional public expressions of dissatisfaction with this or that major decision, the legitimacy of the constitutional tribunals to replace the legislators' understanding of constitutional rights with its own has gone virtually unchallenged. There are two plausible reasons for this uncritical acceptance of robust, activist, rights-based judicial review in the countries undergoing transition from communist to democratic rule. First, the general acceptance tracks the comparatively high social prestige of constitutional courts in these societies as a whole. The second reason has less to do with general public opinion than with the participants in constitutional discourse (constitutional scholars and judges) themselves. This chapter discusses the model of constitutional review in post-communist states, record of constitutional courts in the field of rights, and judicial activism of rights-based judicial review.

This chapter turns to the inquiry’s first main “friendly” or cooperative witness, Brooklyn College (BC) English professor, Bernard Grebanier. Windels began by investigating BC because of its reputation for left-wing activism and the involvement of teachers and students in Popular Front causes. Grebanier, like many of his colleagues, joined the Communist Party because of its strong stance against European fascism, anti-Semitism, and right-wing movements in the United States. Although Grebanier was an unreliable witness, Windels led him to promote the myth that Brooklyn faculty indoctrinated their students.

Up until 1931, the race issue had not been a significant element in the Communist agenda for the Spanish-speaking territories of the Caribbean Basin. The establishment of the Caribbean Bureau of the Comintern in New York in early 1931, however, forced a reassessment of the subject, as the Communist Party of the United States’ Colonial Department’s aims merged with the Caribbean Bureau’s anti-imperialist blueprint. This chapter focuses on the development of this integrated race agenda for the region that brought together elements of regional anti-imperialist campaigns, anti-lynching campaigns in the US, and anti-Garveyism Communist activity in the British West Indies. The result of this joint project was an amalgamated anti-racism initiative, American rather than Caribbean. In practical terms, the inclusion of race in the Communist agenda caused a severing of the traditional ties between Comintern agencies and Communist networks in the Caribbean Basin, since the agenda enforced a black identity as the proletarian norm for the region, artificially designed and imposed from the new revolutionary metropolis. As a result, the project’s foundations for an anti-racism platform and a leadership network would colour the Black Caribbean decolonisation and democratisation process of the post-Second World War era, while helping to preserve a racially segregated radical agenda for the Spanish-speaking Caribbean Basin.

This chapter focuses on the rise of left caucuses and their battle with the New York City Teachers Union's (TU) social democratic leadership. Communist control of the TU can be traced to the battles of the American left, especially the early schism between the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) and those associated with Jay Lovestone's American Communist Opposition (ACO) in 1929. The conflict between ACO and CPUSA would lead to the formation of the two major caucuses in the TU: the Rank and File, affiliated with the Communist Party, and the Progressive Group, made up of followers of Lovestone and the ACO. The chapter examines the ideological divide between the Communist caucuses and the TU leadership, Henry Linville and Abraham Lefkowitz's unsuccessful attempt to remove the Communists from the union, the 1935 schism, and the formation of the Teachers Guild. After the 1935 walkout of Linville, Lefkowitz, and 700 members of the TU, the Communists gained control of the union.

This chapter examines the arrival of classical Marxism in northern Europe, which reflected the industrial transformation and rise in power and size of the working class. It looks at Marx and Engels' views on human needs and human nature, as well as the materialist conception of history. A critique of capitalism is provided, and the chapter also considers the relevance of Marxism to feminism and the position of women in society. The chapter introduces the concept of a communist welfare state, and shows that Marxism places social class at the core of its social theory. However, it also reveals that the views of Marx and Engels were neither detailed nor original.

This chapter lays out the historical background for the development of postcommunist card markets. It revisits theories of the transition, focusing on the three distinct development paths the economies of the eight countries took: the path taken by the Central European countries, which started with an economic recession but soon integrated into the European Union and the developed world; the path navigated by the economies of East Europe, which experienced more tumultuous and protracted transition and a slower European and global integration; and the path traveled by China and Vietnam, two fast-growing East Asian economies that started from an overall much lower level of economic development keeping a strong role of the Communist state in the economy. The chapter discusses the creation of commercial banks and emphasizes the similarities among the countries’ developmental paths. It also criticizes the market transition theories for ignoring the demand side of market building.

This chapter examines the issues and challenges still facing churches and religious associations in Eastern and Central Europe more than two decades after the overthrow of communist rule, and it looks at the lessons learned in the intervening period for the protection of religious freedom in emerging democracies. While some problems were inherited from the communist era and are common throughout the region, others have emerged under the impact of post-communist democratisation and pluralisation, and are specific to particular countries. The creation of stable institutions, backed by the rule of law and freedom of speech, gave a great boost to religious rights in this era. But the quest remains for an appropriate and dependable balance between the sacred and secular spheres, and between the often competing interests of state and individual, as illustrated by the chapter's comparative case studies in areas from church property rights and fiscal privileges to education and abortion.

This chapter focuses on a crucial period in the history of the New York City Teachers Union (TU): the revocation of its charter. The mid-1930s through early 1940s was a very difficult period for the TU. Factionalism had ripped the union apart. To make matters worse, the union was accused by both the American Federation of Labor and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) of being in the hands of Communists. The argument that the union was Communist-controlled was the reason why it was thrown out of the AFT. The anti-Communist forces were also successful in winning an AFT charter for the social democrats who had created a rival union, the Teachers Guild. A number of scholars and writers have argued that the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) abandoned its fight for racial equality once the Soviet Union was attacked by Nazi Germany. They contend that the CPUSA's priority was to protect the Soviet Union against Nazism and fascism, rather than racial equality.

British Guiana became a veritable battleground as three leaders, Cheddi Jagan, Forbes Burnham, and Peter D'Aguiar struggled for political ascendancy. The British government and the United States opposed the granting of British Guiana independence under Cheddi Jagan's leadership. U.S. officials dreaded the creation of a communist state after independence and urged the assumption of direct rule by the British. This chapter describes the worsening political climate in British Guiana and Eric William's strong interest in the British Guianese situation. It examines Williams's attempts to resolve the crisis in British Guiana, asking the three leaders to issue a joint declaration calling for a truce and end the violence in Guiana.

This chapter mentions that refugees from the communist underground were invoking Harry White's name in secret meetings with the FBI and other government agencies, starting a campaign that ultimately would severely damage his posthumous reputation. Jay Vivian Chambers was a one-time member of the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) who renounced his former activities and became a fervent crusader against communism. The chapter talks about how Chamber would eventually become an iconic hero to anti-communist fanatics because of the sensationalism of the charges he raised against Alger Hiss, Harry White, and many others. It explores that the line between truth and fiction in the stories Chambers spun is never clear, and much of what he claimed, is impossible to verify. Chambers testified multiple times under oath that he left the Communist Party at the end of 1937.