Comparative Politics (PSC 250)
Fall 2009
Study Questions VIII: Communism and
Postcommunism
Lecture
1. Describe some of the factors (e.g. leadership, international context) that have
been part of explanations of the persistence of communist systems. How do
such factors also contribute to explaining the breakdown, or even resilience of
those systems in the last 20 years?
2. What are the analytical advantages of labeling the communist systems
“totalitarian?” Under what conditions might “authoritarian” be a better label?
3. What are some of the broad differences between the emergence (and
subsequent development) of communism in Russia and in Eastern Europe,
China, and other countries?
4. Why is it important to focus on communist systems as “party-states?”
5. What are some of the explanations for the decline of communism in the USSR?
Consider geopolitics, economic developments, the role of Gorbachev. Contrast
the “electoral autocracy” of Yeltsin with the “bureaucratic authoritarian” regime of
Putin. What are some of the reasons why communist rule has persisted in China
(compare to the USSR)?
O’Neil, Essentials, Chapter eight
6. How does the textbook define “communism?” How is it distinct from “socialism”
(as understood by communists and by social democrats)? How can Marxists
argue for both the “dictatorship of the proletariat” and the “withering away of the
state?”
7. Describe the ways in which Communist parties in the Soviet Union and China
dominated the state and society. Consider their roles as “vanguards,” the
importance of the nomenklatura, the internal organization of those parties
(particularly their Politburos and “cells”) and the role played by formal state
organizations such as legislatures.
8. Why did the communist systems use “central planning?” Describe some of the
problems associated with this political-economic strategy.
9. How did communist systems try to change societal relations, such as religion,
gender roles and national/ethnic identities?
10. What roles did glasnost and perestroika play in the collapse of communism?
Why did Gorbachev pursue these policies? What other policies encouraged
change in Eastern Europe? What happened in China around the same time?
11. What are the general patterns of political transition in postcommunist regimes
since the early 1990s? Consider Freedom House rankings and parliamentary v.
presidential systems.
12. Distinguish between privatization and marketization as economic processes in
postcommunist regimes. Why have these been so difficult for many countries?
Why have some countries been more successful than others in carrying these
processes out?
O’Neil and Rogowski, Readings, Chapter eight
Note: Only the Przeworski and Pye readings are required readings.
13. What does Przeworski mean by insisting that political scientists should
distinguish between the “underlying causes” (the “cancer”) and the “precipitating
conditions” (the “pneumonia”) in trying to explain the collapse of communism?
Consider the comparisons drawn between the fall of authoritarian regimes in
Southern Europe and Latin America and the fall of communism.
14. What were the underlying causes of the collapse, according to Przeworski?
Consider especially the importance of ideology and the role of the military as
embodied in the comment that “to shoot, one must believe in something” (p.
369).
15. Describe the “snowball” effect of the collapse of communism, beginning with
events in Poland in 1981.
16. How does a focus on changes in political culture distinguish the analysis of China
and Russia since the 1980s. Why does Pye distinguish between the effects of
political and economic changes on individual psychology and the collective
psychology of national identity (or political culture)?
17. How did the experience with communism in China and Russia “traumatize” their
political cultures? Consider the importance of fear, purges, and terror. Why is it
significant that both countries experienced communism before fully modernizing?
18. What does Pye mean by arguing that Chinese political culture is now marked by
“self pity,” xenophobic nationalism, concerns about sovereignty, and blocked
memories?
19. What are the barriers to the emergence of “civil society” in China, according to
Pye?