Author: Stefan Lochner
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 365602958X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 16
Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject Sociology - Politics, Majorities, Minorities, grade: G (Good), University of Dalarna (Master Programme of European Political Sociology), language: English, abstract: The collapse of communism at the end of the 1980s was one of the most important occurrence in the 20th century. In only a few months – starting with the institutional compromises in Poland and Hungary and the non-violent revolutions in the GDR and ČSSR - the Soviet-led East European statesystem and later the Soviet Union as well, dispersed in a way and with such rapidy, nobody in the “West” and “East” believed to be possible. Real self-determination of the satellite states or indepenence of the former Soviet Republics and changes in the political and economic system were the consequences. At the highest historic level, the world ́s geopolitical order changed dramatically, because the devision into two fields of interest was brought to an end and with it the Cold War. From a European perspective, after the downfall of the “Iron Curtain” the opportunity was opened to fulfill the idea of a European Community, also in a much wider sense, and for Germany the over 40 year lasting existence of two states was repealed with the reunification. In the following passage of the main part I will try to explain why in Poland an institutional compromise was achieved, whereas in East Germany a non-violent revolution broke out. With references to Poland, we can speak of an institutional compromise because the “impetus for change came from the elite, which undertook negotiations with the opposition over the shape of the new institutions”, while in East Germany a revolution took place because “the impetus for change came directly from the mobilization of a broad-based opposition engaged in non-accepted means of mass collective action; the result was systematic change in both the political and the socioeconimoc system”.
Why Revolt? A Comparative Analysis of Poland and East Germany in 1989
Author: Stefan Lochner
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 365602958X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 16
Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject Sociology - Politics, Majorities, Minorities, grade: G (Good), University of Dalarna (Master Programme of European Political Sociology), language: English, abstract: The collapse of communism at the end of the 1980s was one of the most important occurrence in the 20th century. In only a few months – starting with the institutional compromises in Poland and Hungary and the non-violent revolutions in the GDR and ČSSR - the Soviet-led East European statesystem and later the Soviet Union as well, dispersed in a way and with such rapidy, nobody in the “West” and “East” believed to be possible. Real self-determination of the satellite states or indepenence of the former Soviet Republics and changes in the political and economic system were the consequences. At the highest historic level, the world ́s geopolitical order changed dramatically, because the devision into two fields of interest was brought to an end and with it the Cold War. From a European perspective, after the downfall of the “Iron Curtain” the opportunity was opened to fulfill the idea of a European Community, also in a much wider sense, and for Germany the over 40 year lasting existence of two states was repealed with the reunification. In the following passage of the main part I will try to explain why in Poland an institutional compromise was achieved, whereas in East Germany a non-violent revolution broke out. With references to Poland, we can speak of an institutional compromise because the “impetus for change came from the elite, which undertook negotiations with the opposition over the shape of the new institutions”, while in East Germany a revolution took place because “the impetus for change came directly from the mobilization of a broad-based opposition engaged in non-accepted means of mass collective action; the result was systematic change in both the political and the socioeconimoc system”.
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 365602958X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 16
Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject Sociology - Politics, Majorities, Minorities, grade: G (Good), University of Dalarna (Master Programme of European Political Sociology), language: English, abstract: The collapse of communism at the end of the 1980s was one of the most important occurrence in the 20th century. In only a few months – starting with the institutional compromises in Poland and Hungary and the non-violent revolutions in the GDR and ČSSR - the Soviet-led East European statesystem and later the Soviet Union as well, dispersed in a way and with such rapidy, nobody in the “West” and “East” believed to be possible. Real self-determination of the satellite states or indepenence of the former Soviet Republics and changes in the political and economic system were the consequences. At the highest historic level, the world ́s geopolitical order changed dramatically, because the devision into two fields of interest was brought to an end and with it the Cold War. From a European perspective, after the downfall of the “Iron Curtain” the opportunity was opened to fulfill the idea of a European Community, also in a much wider sense, and for Germany the over 40 year lasting existence of two states was repealed with the reunification. In the following passage of the main part I will try to explain why in Poland an institutional compromise was achieved, whereas in East Germany a non-violent revolution broke out. With references to Poland, we can speak of an institutional compromise because the “impetus for change came from the elite, which undertook negotiations with the opposition over the shape of the new institutions”, while in East Germany a revolution took place because “the impetus for change came directly from the mobilization of a broad-based opposition engaged in non-accepted means of mass collective action; the result was systematic change in both the political and the socioeconimoc system”.
Uprising in East Germany 1953
Author: Christian F. Ostermann
Publisher: Central European University Press
ISBN: 9789639241572
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 496
Book Description
"A detailed introductory essay to provide the necessary historical and political context precedes each part. The individual documents are introduced by short headnotes summarizing the contents and orienting the reader. A chronology, glossary and bibliography offer further background information."--BOOK JACKET.
Publisher: Central European University Press
ISBN: 9789639241572
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 496
Book Description
"A detailed introductory essay to provide the necessary historical and political context precedes each part. The individual documents are introduced by short headnotes summarizing the contents and orienting the reader. A chronology, glossary and bibliography offer further background information."--BOOK JACKET.
The Fall
Author: Steven Saxonberg
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351544659
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 384
Book Description
With a foreword by Seymour Lipset, Hoover Institution and George Mason University, USAThe Fall examines one of the twentieth century's great historical puzzles: why did the communist-led regimes in Eastern Europe collapse so quickly and why was the process of collapse so different from country to country? This major study explains why the impetus for change in Poland and Hungary came from the regimes themselves, while in Czechoslovakia and East Germany it was mass movements which led to the downfall of the regimes.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351544659
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 384
Book Description
With a foreword by Seymour Lipset, Hoover Institution and George Mason University, USAThe Fall examines one of the twentieth century's great historical puzzles: why did the communist-led regimes in Eastern Europe collapse so quickly and why was the process of collapse so different from country to country? This major study explains why the impetus for change in Poland and Hungary came from the regimes themselves, while in Czechoslovakia and East Germany it was mass movements which led to the downfall of the regimes.
Captive University
Author: John Connelly
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 1469623854
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 451
Book Description
This comparative history of the higher education systems in Poland, East Germany, and the Czech lands reveals an unexpected diversity within East European stalinism. With information gleaned from archives in each of these places, John Connelly offers a valuable case study showing how totalitarian states adapt their policies to the contours of the societies they rule. The Communist dictum that universities be purged of "bourgeois elements" was accomplished most fully in East Germany, where more and more students came from worker and peasant backgrounds. But the Polish Party kept potentially disloyal professors on the job in the futile hope that they would train a new intelligentsia, and Czech stalinists failed to make worker and peasant students a majority at Czech universities. Connelly accounts for these differences by exploring the prestalinist heritage of these countries, and particularly their experiences in World War II. The failure of Polish and Czech leaders to transform their universities became particularly evident during the crises of 1968 and 1989, when university students spearheaded reform movements. In East Germany, by contrast, universities remained true to the state to the end, and students were notably absent from the revolution of 1989.
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 1469623854
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 451
Book Description
This comparative history of the higher education systems in Poland, East Germany, and the Czech lands reveals an unexpected diversity within East European stalinism. With information gleaned from archives in each of these places, John Connelly offers a valuable case study showing how totalitarian states adapt their policies to the contours of the societies they rule. The Communist dictum that universities be purged of "bourgeois elements" was accomplished most fully in East Germany, where more and more students came from worker and peasant backgrounds. But the Polish Party kept potentially disloyal professors on the job in the futile hope that they would train a new intelligentsia, and Czech stalinists failed to make worker and peasant students a majority at Czech universities. Connelly accounts for these differences by exploring the prestalinist heritage of these countries, and particularly their experiences in World War II. The failure of Polish and Czech leaders to transform their universities became particularly evident during the crises of 1968 and 1989, when university students spearheaded reform movements. In East Germany, by contrast, universities remained true to the state to the end, and students were notably absent from the revolution of 1989.
The 1989 Revolutions in Central and Eastern Europe
Author: Kevin McDermott
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 1526103478
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 278
Book Description
This important book reassesses a defining historical, political and ideological moment in contemporary history: the 1989 revolutions in central and eastern Europe. Adopting a multi-disciplinary approach, the authors reconsider such crucial themes as the broader historical significance of the 1989 events, the complex interaction between external and internal factors in the origins and outcomes of the revolutions, the impact of the ‘Gorbachev phenomenon’, the West and the end of the Cold War, the political and socio-economic determinants of the revolutionary processes in Poland, Hungary, the German Democratic Republic, Czechoslovakia, Romania and Bulgaria, and the competing academic, cultural and ideological perceptions of the year 1989 as communism gave way to post-communist pluralism in the 1990s and beyond. Concluding that the contentious term ‘revolution’ is indeed apt for the momentous developments in eastern Europe in 1989, this book will be essential reading for undergraduates, postgraduates and specialists alike.
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 1526103478
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 278
Book Description
This important book reassesses a defining historical, political and ideological moment in contemporary history: the 1989 revolutions in central and eastern Europe. Adopting a multi-disciplinary approach, the authors reconsider such crucial themes as the broader historical significance of the 1989 events, the complex interaction between external and internal factors in the origins and outcomes of the revolutions, the impact of the ‘Gorbachev phenomenon’, the West and the end of the Cold War, the political and socio-economic determinants of the revolutionary processes in Poland, Hungary, the German Democratic Republic, Czechoslovakia, Romania and Bulgaria, and the competing academic, cultural and ideological perceptions of the year 1989 as communism gave way to post-communist pluralism in the 1990s and beyond. Concluding that the contentious term ‘revolution’ is indeed apt for the momentous developments in eastern Europe in 1989, this book will be essential reading for undergraduates, postgraduates and specialists alike.
Recovered Territory
Author: Peter Polak-Springer
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781782388876
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 280
Book Description
"From 1919 to 1989, the borderland of Upper Silesia, one of Central Europe's most important industrial regions, was at the center of a conflict between Germany and Poland. In their interaction with--and mutual influence on--one another, political and cultural actors from both nations developed a transnational culture of territorial rivalry. Architecture, spaces of memory, films, radio auditions, museums, folklore, language policy, mass rallies, and archeological digs marked just some of the features that gave the borderland a 'German'/'Polish' face. This case, representative of the wider politics of twentieth-century Europe, played a critical role in one of history's most violent and uprooting eras"--Provided by publisher.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781782388876
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 280
Book Description
"From 1919 to 1989, the borderland of Upper Silesia, one of Central Europe's most important industrial regions, was at the center of a conflict between Germany and Poland. In their interaction with--and mutual influence on--one another, political and cultural actors from both nations developed a transnational culture of territorial rivalry. Architecture, spaces of memory, films, radio auditions, museums, folklore, language policy, mass rallies, and archeological digs marked just some of the features that gave the borderland a 'German'/'Polish' face. This case, representative of the wider politics of twentieth-century Europe, played a critical role in one of history's most violent and uprooting eras"--Provided by publisher.
Revolution with a Human Face
Author: James Krapfl
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 0801469414
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 181
Book Description
In this social and cultural history of Czechoslovakia's "gentle revolution," James Krapfl shifts the focus away from elites to ordinary citizens who endeavored—from the outbreak of revolution in 1989 to the demise of the Czechoslovak federation in 1992—to establish a new, democratic political culture. Unique in its balanced coverage of developments in both Czech and Slovak lands, including the Hungarian minority of southern Slovakia, this book looks beyond Prague and Bratislava to collective action in small towns, provincial factories, and collective farms.Through his broad and deep analysis of workers' declarations, student bulletins, newspapers, film footage, and the proceedings of local administrative bodies, Krapfl contends that Czechoslovaks rejected Communism not because it was socialist, but because it was arbitrarily bureaucratic and inhumane. The restoration of a basic "humanness"—in politics and in daily relations among citizens—was the central goal of the revolution. In the strikes and demonstrations that began in the last weeks of 1989, Krapfl argues, citizens forged new symbols and a new symbolic system to reflect the humane, democratic, and nonviolent community they sought to create. Tracing the course of the revolution from early, idealistic euphoria through turns to radicalism and ultimately subversive reaction, Revolution with a Human Face finds in Czechoslovakia’s experiences lessons of both inspiration and caution for people in other countries striving to democratize their governments.
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 0801469414
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 181
Book Description
In this social and cultural history of Czechoslovakia's "gentle revolution," James Krapfl shifts the focus away from elites to ordinary citizens who endeavored—from the outbreak of revolution in 1989 to the demise of the Czechoslovak federation in 1992—to establish a new, democratic political culture. Unique in its balanced coverage of developments in both Czech and Slovak lands, including the Hungarian minority of southern Slovakia, this book looks beyond Prague and Bratislava to collective action in small towns, provincial factories, and collective farms.Through his broad and deep analysis of workers' declarations, student bulletins, newspapers, film footage, and the proceedings of local administrative bodies, Krapfl contends that Czechoslovaks rejected Communism not because it was socialist, but because it was arbitrarily bureaucratic and inhumane. The restoration of a basic "humanness"—in politics and in daily relations among citizens—was the central goal of the revolution. In the strikes and demonstrations that began in the last weeks of 1989, Krapfl argues, citizens forged new symbols and a new symbolic system to reflect the humane, democratic, and nonviolent community they sought to create. Tracing the course of the revolution from early, idealistic euphoria through turns to radicalism and ultimately subversive reaction, Revolution with a Human Face finds in Czechoslovakia’s experiences lessons of both inspiration and caution for people in other countries striving to democratize their governments.
Routledge Handbook of Comparative Political Institutions
Author: Jennifer Gandhi
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317551788
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 602
Book Description
The Routledge Handbook of Comparative Political Institutions (HCPI) is designed to serve as a comprehensive reference guide to our accumulated knowledge and the cutting edge of scholarship about political institutions in the comparative context. It differs from existing handbooks in that it focuses squarely on institutions but also discusses how they intersect with the study of mass behaviour and explain important outcomes, drawing on the perspective of comparative politics. The Handbook is organized into three sections: The first section, consisting of six chapters, is organized around broad theoretical and empirical challenges affecting the study of institutions. It highlights the major issues that emerge among scholars defining, measuring, and analyzing institutions. The second section includes fifteen chapters, each of which handles a different substantive institution of importance in comparative politics. This section covers traditional topics, such as electoral rules and federalism, as well as less conventional but equally important areas, including authoritarian institutions, labor market institutions, and the military. Each chapter not only provides a summary of our current state of knowledge on the topic, but also advances claims that emphasise the research frontier on the topic and that should encourage greater investigation. The final section, encompassing seven chapters, examines the relationship between institutions and a variety of important outcomes, such as political violence, economic performance, and voting behavior. The idea is to consider what features of the political, sociological, and economic world we understand better because of the scholarly attention to institutions. Featuring contributions from leading researchers in the field from the US, UK, Europe and elsewhere, this Handbook will be of great interest to all students and scholars of political institutions, political behaviour and comparative politics. Jennifer Gandhi is Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Emory University. Rubén Ruiz-Rufino is Lecturer in International Politics, Department of Political Economy, King’s College London.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317551788
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 602
Book Description
The Routledge Handbook of Comparative Political Institutions (HCPI) is designed to serve as a comprehensive reference guide to our accumulated knowledge and the cutting edge of scholarship about political institutions in the comparative context. It differs from existing handbooks in that it focuses squarely on institutions but also discusses how they intersect with the study of mass behaviour and explain important outcomes, drawing on the perspective of comparative politics. The Handbook is organized into three sections: The first section, consisting of six chapters, is organized around broad theoretical and empirical challenges affecting the study of institutions. It highlights the major issues that emerge among scholars defining, measuring, and analyzing institutions. The second section includes fifteen chapters, each of which handles a different substantive institution of importance in comparative politics. This section covers traditional topics, such as electoral rules and federalism, as well as less conventional but equally important areas, including authoritarian institutions, labor market institutions, and the military. Each chapter not only provides a summary of our current state of knowledge on the topic, but also advances claims that emphasise the research frontier on the topic and that should encourage greater investigation. The final section, encompassing seven chapters, examines the relationship between institutions and a variety of important outcomes, such as political violence, economic performance, and voting behavior. The idea is to consider what features of the political, sociological, and economic world we understand better because of the scholarly attention to institutions. Featuring contributions from leading researchers in the field from the US, UK, Europe and elsewhere, this Handbook will be of great interest to all students and scholars of political institutions, political behaviour and comparative politics. Jennifer Gandhi is Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Emory University. Rubén Ruiz-Rufino is Lecturer in International Politics, Department of Political Economy, King’s College London.
The Routledge Handbook of East European Politics
Author: Adam Fagan
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317418875
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 484
Book Description
The Routledge Handbook of East European Politics is an authoritative overview that will help a wide readership develop an understanding of the region in all its political, economic, and social complexity. Including Central Europe, the Baltic republics, South Eastern Europe, and the Western Balkans, as well as all the countries of the former Soviet Union, it is unrivalled in breadth and depth, affording a comprehensive overview of Eastern European politics provided by leading experts in the fields of comparative politics, international relations, and public administration. Through a series of cutting-edge articles, it seeks to explain and understand patterns of Eastern European politics today. The Routledge Handbook of East European Politics will be a key reference point both for advanced-level students developing knowledge about the subject, researchers producing new material in the area, and those interested and working in the fields of East European Politics, Russian Politics, EU Politics, and more broadly in European Politics, Comparative Politics, Democratization Studies, and International Relations.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317418875
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 484
Book Description
The Routledge Handbook of East European Politics is an authoritative overview that will help a wide readership develop an understanding of the region in all its political, economic, and social complexity. Including Central Europe, the Baltic republics, South Eastern Europe, and the Western Balkans, as well as all the countries of the former Soviet Union, it is unrivalled in breadth and depth, affording a comprehensive overview of Eastern European politics provided by leading experts in the fields of comparative politics, international relations, and public administration. Through a series of cutting-edge articles, it seeks to explain and understand patterns of Eastern European politics today. The Routledge Handbook of East European Politics will be a key reference point both for advanced-level students developing knowledge about the subject, researchers producing new material in the area, and those interested and working in the fields of East European Politics, Russian Politics, EU Politics, and more broadly in European Politics, Comparative Politics, Democratization Studies, and International Relations.
The State against Society
Author: Grzegorz Ekiert
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400822041
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 452
Book Description
Classical images of state-socialism developed in contemporary social sciences were founded on simple presuppositions. State-socialist regimes were considered to be politically stable due to their pervasive institutional and ideological control over the everyday lives of their citizens, impervious to reform and change, and representative of extreme political and economic dependency. Despite their contrasting historical experiences, they have been treated as basically identical in their institutional design, social and economic structures, and policies. Grzegorz Ekiert challenges this notion in a comparative analysis of the major political crises in post-1945 East Central Europe: Hungary (1956-63), Czechoslovakia (1968-76), and Poland (1980-89). The author maintains that the nature and consequences of these crises can better explain the distinctive experiences of East Central European countries under communist rule than can the formal characteristics of their political and economic systems or their politically dependent status. He explores how political crises reshaped party-state institutions, redefined relations between party and state institutions, altered the relationship between the state and various groups and organizations within society, and modified the political practices of these regimes. He shows how these events transformed cultural categories, produced collective memories, and imposed long-lasting constraints on mass political behavior and the policy choices of ruling elites. These crises shaped the political evolution of the region, produced important cross-national differences among state-socialist regimes, and contributed to the distinctive patterns of their collapse.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400822041
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 452
Book Description
Classical images of state-socialism developed in contemporary social sciences were founded on simple presuppositions. State-socialist regimes were considered to be politically stable due to their pervasive institutional and ideological control over the everyday lives of their citizens, impervious to reform and change, and representative of extreme political and economic dependency. Despite their contrasting historical experiences, they have been treated as basically identical in their institutional design, social and economic structures, and policies. Grzegorz Ekiert challenges this notion in a comparative analysis of the major political crises in post-1945 East Central Europe: Hungary (1956-63), Czechoslovakia (1968-76), and Poland (1980-89). The author maintains that the nature and consequences of these crises can better explain the distinctive experiences of East Central European countries under communist rule than can the formal characteristics of their political and economic systems or their politically dependent status. He explores how political crises reshaped party-state institutions, redefined relations between party and state institutions, altered the relationship between the state and various groups and organizations within society, and modified the political practices of these regimes. He shows how these events transformed cultural categories, produced collective memories, and imposed long-lasting constraints on mass political behavior and the policy choices of ruling elites. These crises shaped the political evolution of the region, produced important cross-national differences among state-socialist regimes, and contributed to the distinctive patterns of their collapse.