Results by title
81 books match the query 'Post-communism' and 5 start with o
Of Red Dragons and Evil Spirits
Post-Communist Historiography between Democratization and the New Politics of HistoryOto Luthar
Central European University Press, 2017
The collection of well-researched essays assesses the uses and misuses of history 25 years after the collapse of Soviet hegemony in Eastern Europe. As opposed to the revival of national histories that seemed to be the prevailing historiographical approach of the 1990s, the last decade has seen a particular set of narratives equating Nazism and Communism. This provides opportunities to exonerate wartime collaboration, casting the nation as victim even when its government was allied with Germany. While the Jewish Holocaust is acknowledged, its meaning and significance are obfuscated. In their comparative analysis the authors are also interested in new practices of ‘Europeanness’. Therefore their presentations of Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian and Slovenian post-communist memory politics move beyond the common national myths in order to provide a new insight into transnational interactions and exchanges in Europe in general. The juxtaposition of these politics, the processes in other parts of Europe, the modes of remembering shaped by displacement and the transnational enable a close encounter with the divergences and assess the potential of the formation of common, European memory practices.
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On Baltic Slovenia and Adriatic Lithuania
A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Patterns in Post-Communist TransformationZenonas Norkus
Central European University Press, 2012
A unique application of social science software to generate typology and ranklist of transition models of twenty-nine countries in Europe and Asia, ranging from Estonia to Vietnam, Norkus provides a highly innovative internationally comparative causal analysis of the variation in political and economic outcomes after the first decade of post-communist transformations, using multi-value Qualitative Comparative Analysis and Tosmana programme. The analysis includes a critical revision of received dichotomies (e.g. on gradualism versus “shock therapy”), and contributes to current debates on the varieties of post-communist capitalism.This conceptual framework is applied in national case studies, searching for reasons behind successes and failures, with special consideration given to the possibility of alternatives to the Lithuanian way, and the challenges of populism in this country’s politics.
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On Your Marx
Relinking Socialism and the LeftRandy Martin
University of Minnesota Press, 2001
Reclaims Marx for today through a fundamental reconsideration of how his works should be read.
Why-and how-does Marx speak to our day? Seeking to reestablish the link between Marx, socialism, and the Left, this book negotiates the common ground between orthodox marxism and postmarxism to show how Marx can elaborate the present. More than a claim for his relevance, this book is also a forceful statement about how theory relates to political project and organization.
What, Randy Martin asks, does Marx have to say to the discourses of radical democracy, postmodernism, and globalization-all of which purport to solve problems that emerge in Marx’s writings? A reading of Marx can in fact disclose the limitations of the contemporary modes of criticism, identifying the difficult conceptual problems that cannot be avoided or overcome. Using readings of Marx to restage contemporary political discussions, On Your Marx reengages orthodox and postmarxist understandings in a critical and constructive conversation. In doing so, the book points to powerful new alliances between cultural and political theorists and activists, opening new possibilities for mobilization and social justice.[more]
On the Verge of Convergence
Social Stratification in Eastern EuropeHenryk Domanski
Central European University Press, 2000
Based on comparative surveys, the author presents a study of social transformation in Central and Eastern Europe after 1989. Focusing on Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Russia and Slovakia, the author provides information relating to social structure, mobility, inequality, lifestyle and economic stratification. Applying the Erikson-Goldthorpe classification of class positions, Domanski effectively presents fully comparable data to enable political comparisons to be made with other countries, especially those with firmly established free market economies. As such, "On the Verge of Convergence" seeks to provide a clearer understanding of the on-going process of social transformation within developing capitalist societies.
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Out of the Red
Building Capitalism and Democracy in Postcommunist EuropeMitchell A. Orenstein
University of Michigan Press, 2001
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the countries of East-Central Europe embarked on a journey to transform themselves into democratic capitalist societies. Their governments searched for strategies that would allow them to pursue radical market reforms within the context of nascent democratic politics. Poland adopted a neoliberal strategy that attempted to push through as much reform as possible before an antireform backlash could occur. In the Czech Republic, a social liberal strategy for transformation attempted to combine neoliberal macro-economic policies with social democratic measures designed to avert such a backlash.
A detailed analysis of Poland and the Czech Republic suggests that alternation between strategies has been the secret to the success of East-Central European countries.
This comparative case analysis identifies the significance of reform mistakes during transition and the corrective benefits of policy alternation, its claims illustrated with an in-depth study of privatization policy in the two countries.
Mitchell A. Orenstein delves into the historic struggle to build capitalism and democracy during a decade of post- communist transition in East-Central Europe and develops a model that explains why democratic policy alternation may accelerate policy learning under conditions of uncertainty and constraint.
Out of the Red is accessible to a general audience and as such is suitable for both graduate and undergraduate courses on political economy. It will be of particular interest to economists, political scientists, sociologists, students of postcommunism, and anyone interested in the relations between capitalism and democracy in the contemporary world.
Mitchell A. Orenstein is Assistant Professor of Political Science, Syracuse University.
A detailed analysis of Poland and the Czech Republic suggests that alternation between strategies has been the secret to the success of East-Central European countries.
This comparative case analysis identifies the significance of reform mistakes during transition and the corrective benefits of policy alternation, its claims illustrated with an in-depth study of privatization policy in the two countries.
Mitchell A. Orenstein delves into the historic struggle to build capitalism and democracy during a decade of post- communist transition in East-Central Europe and develops a model that explains why democratic policy alternation may accelerate policy learning under conditions of uncertainty and constraint.
Out of the Red is accessible to a general audience and as such is suitable for both graduate and undergraduate courses on political economy. It will be of particular interest to economists, political scientists, sociologists, students of postcommunism, and anyone interested in the relations between capitalism and democracy in the contemporary world.
Mitchell A. Orenstein is Assistant Professor of Political Science, Syracuse University.
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