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: The Study of Totalitarianism and Authoritarianism

Archie Brown

in The British Study of Politics in the Twentieth Century

The rise of totalitarian regimes in Russia, Germany, and Italy between the two world wars preceded the professionalization of the study of politics. The political experience of recent decades ... More

The rise of totalitarian regimes in Russia, Germany, and Italy between the two world wars preceded the professionalization of the study of politics. The political experience of recent decades suggests that where authoritarian regimes have given way to democratic systems in which politicians can be held accountable and where a rule of law prevails, there is little likelihood of a return to authoritarianism, least of all in the form of Communism or fascism. It is easier to continue to deny political liberties to people who have never experienced them than to remove freedoms to which citizens have quickly become accustomed. Whether the world’s first Communist state, Russia, will succeed in breaking decisively with its authoritarian past remains one of the most momentous of all the unresolved puzzles. It is one question among many likely to keep British students of politics busy into the twenty-first century.Less

Pathos Versus Pestilence

Józef Mackiewicz

in The Triumph of Provocation

This chapter discusses the damages caused by communism. It describes the errors committed by the Western powers in relation to international communism and offers arguments against those who ... More

This chapter discusses the damages caused by communism. It describes the errors committed by the Western powers in relation to international communism and offers arguments against those who questioned the correctness of the thesis that communism in the 1960s constituted a threat to the free world and that it was only a slogan that served as a screen for other goals. It also argues that the death of half the human race in an atomic war is not the greatest catastrophe and that the real catastrophe would be for all mankind to be living under the rule of the communist system.Less

Introduction

Deborah S. Cornelius

in Hungary in World War II: Caught in the Cauldron

The full story of Hungary in World War II could not be told until the collapse of the Communist system, forty-five years after the end of the war. Hungary was occupied by the Red Army in 1945, and ... More

The full story of Hungary in World War II could not be told until the collapse of the Communist system, forty-five years after the end of the war. Hungary was occupied by the Red Army in 1945, and since the Soviets considered Hungary's participation in the war a crime against the Soviet Union, the war was not commemorated. Most people knew only the version of history learned in school; that the disastrous war was brought on by the fascist reactionary wartime regime, that all political and military leaders of the period were war criminals, and that Hungary had been liberated by the Soviet Army on April 4, 1945. This book's objective in this work is to reveal the story of Hungary in World War II and to understand why people acted as they did under the pressure of the war's turmoil.Less

The Party Politics of Foreign and Security Policy

Wolfgang Wagner

in The Democratic Politics of Military Interventions: Political Parties, Contestation, and Decisions to Use Force Abroad

Analyses of party manifestos, of expert judgements on party positions, and of parties’ actual behaviour when voting on military missions all show that party-political contestation is structured along ... More

Analyses of party manifestos, of expert judgements on party positions, and of parties’ actual behaviour when voting on military missions all show that party-political contestation is structured along the left/right dimension. Support for the military and its interventions is systematically related to the left/right dimension in a skewed inverted U-curve: support is weakest at the far left and increases as one moves along the left/right axis to the centre right where it reaches its peak. The far right is less supportive then the centre right but less opposed than the far left. The relation to the ‘new politics’ dimension is shaped very similarly but is generally weaker. Party-political contestation of military missions in the post-Communist party systems in Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe follows a different pattern than elsewhere. In the post-Communist party systems, the relationship between left/right and support of military interventions is weaker, and the relationship with the ‘new politics’ dimension is either weak or even points in the opposite direction as in Western Europe. It is important to note, however, that the influence of the left/right dimension is not limited to Western Europe. As the manifestos of various non-European countries show, the correlation can also be found in Asia, Oceania, Africa, and Latin America.Less

Socialist humanism and Toward the Ontology of Social Being/Zur Ontologie des gesellschaftslichen Seins

in Lukácsian film theory and cinema: A study of Georg Lukács’ writings on film, 1913-71

This chapter discusses the political commentaries of Georg Lukács on the subject of socialist renewal. Lukács argued for the establishment of a humanist-socialist society within the existing ... More

This chapter discusses the political commentaries of Georg Lukács on the subject of socialist renewal. Lukács argued for the establishment of a humanist-socialist society within the existing communist system in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. His work, Toward the Ontology of Social Being (1971–73) marks his revisionist philosophical attempt to return to the classical roots of Marxism.Less

The Political Economy of North Korea: The Paradigmatic Hard Target

Stephan Haggard and Marcus Noland

in Hard Target: Sanctions, Inducements, and the Case of North Korea

This chapter considers characteristics of authoritarian regimes in general, and North Korea in particular, that affect their vulnerability to sanctions. These include the core constituents of the ... More

This chapter considers characteristics of authoritarian regimes in general, and North Korea in particular, that affect their vulnerability to sanctions. These include the core constituents of the regime, its capacity to repress, and its organizational structure. The chapter also includes a discussion of the path of reform and opening in North Korea, which is shown to be hesitant at best.Less

The Role of Culture and Nationalism in Latvian Environmentalism and the Implications for Environmental Justice

Tamara Steger

in Environmental Justice and Sustainability in the Former Soviet Union

This chapter examines the role of cultural elements and nationalism in the environmental movement in Latvia and its implications for environmental justice. It discusses how nationalism and cultural ... More

This chapter examines the role of cultural elements and nationalism in the environmental movement in Latvia and its implications for environmental justice. It discusses how nationalism and cultural heritage inspired Latvian environmental activists to work towards independence from the former Soviet Union and suggests that Latvian environmental movement for independence was actually a call for environmental justice. This chapter also mentions that during this time the Soviet communist system was linked to environmental degradation.Less

Alternative Private-Public Blends in Higher-Education Finance: International Patterns

Daniel C. Levy

in Private Education: Studies in Choice and Public Policy

Several of the preceding pieces in this volume have analyzed policy debates concerning the financing of school systems. The policy debates are no less intense when the focus turns to higher ... More

Several of the preceding pieces in this volume have analyzed policy debates concerning the financing of school systems. The policy debates are no less intense when the focus turns to higher education. Many arguments run in parallel fashion between educational levels. Some differ by matters of degree, while others differ fundamentally. Whatever the parallels in argumentation, there are striking differences in actual practice between levels. In the United States, private schools depend much more on private finance than private higher education does, while public schools depend much more exclusively on public finance than public higher education does. The panorama appears to be different in many other nations that have both private and public sectors. Their private schools seem more likely than private universities to receive public funds and their public universities seem nearly as likely as public schools to depend almost exclusively on public funds. In U.S. higher education there is considerable debate concerning the appropriate blend of private and public financing for each sector. The problem has become especially acute as enrollments decline, federal and state governments seek to cut costs, and concern spreads about higher education's equity effects in serving privileged groups out of general revenues. There is a good deal of reference to different economic theories, social values, and political constraints. But there is almost no consideration of how policymakers elsewhere have approached the problem. Of course, financial policy outside the United States is made within private-public parameters that are different from those faced by U.S. policymakers, but cross-national comparisons may help stimulate, or even orient, crossstate comparisons within the United States. More importantly, cross-national experience could at least help put our policy choices into perspective. For example, few in the United States support either 100% private or 100% public funding. An economic theory that tends to favor private over public funding may simply tell us to increase our present private share if that share is “low.” Less