Suchergebnisse

The events of 1989, frequently referred to as a "velvet revolution", in the countries of the former Communist bloc should be analyzed as an exceptional course of historical processes rather than as a regular historical law of transformation and tran sition. When dealing with these events, Western scholars have too often forgotten that politics is a function of culture; and culture, a function and production of structural processes at the very heart of society. The connective thread running through the tapestry of 1989 connects politics and society. It thus draws attention to the cultural underpinnings of structural processes, to the processes involving identity politics and cultural symbolism, as well as emotional and spiritual responses to everyday situations. In order to increase the explanatory power of an analysis of these events, we should focus on the perpetual, frequent and prevalent elements of social action, and not just on the exceptional ones.

Argues that the 1989 revolution in Eastern Europe did not bring the end of history, as some Western scholars assumed, but unleashed processes that are inherently conflictual, aspirations that are exclusionist, economic programs that are unjust & unfair, & mechanisms for the replacement of personnel & institutions that have redefined & limited the uses of freedom. It is shown that the collapse of state socialism did not bring forward postcommunist arrangements, but instead, initiated a spontaneous removal of everything that was reminiscent of the past. Further, while democratic freedoms were announced, these did not coincide with a broader frame of citizenship rights, but rather, produced a restructuring of privilege. These problems were exacerbated by inordinate intrusion of foreign interests into the region, & by structural & cultural problems & strains that have traditionally characterized the region. Particular attention is paid in this regard to the emergence of religious organizations as strong political powers & the rise of denominational states in cases where the secular state coalition dissolved. This sequence of historical events is taken to mark an overture to the future, as the old system continues to be dismantled, rather than the end of history. D. M. Smith

This paper deals with the sociological theories that developed in Poland during the height of societal expectations for better life and a brighter future. However, the decade of 1970-80 already contained seeds of crisis. The mainstream sociological theories that are analysed here neglected many of the alarming features of the socialist society already to be seen. Instead, the proponents of those theories actively supported the political enterprise of the existing power élite. As a result, those major sociological theories have little explanatory utility, since they are not an adequate tool of cognition for the actual existing socialist society. The non-mainstream approaches, on the other hand, although being far more critical, did not bear features of sociological theory either.

This article examines developmental processes in postwar Poland. The primacy of politics over economy is an ideological principle of socialist systems. Developmental processes, therefore, are controlled by political and not economic logic. After the initial period of political pluralism in Poland (1944-1948), when the improvement of social consumption was outlined as a developmental strategy, the subsequent political programs fostered overindustrialization or relative under urbanization. Polish cities were deprived of autonomous developmental functions, and various industrial branches became the only forces responsible for the social consumption provisions. Urban social problems and subsequent waves of protest resulted from the uneven distribution of the costs of growth among different sectors of society and, indirectly, from the course of industrialization-urbanization processes. Increasing social inequality, persistent housing problems and lack of municipal participatory democracy were caused by the macrosocial determinants of the developmental strategies.

Examines the impact of social protest movements on the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, & critiques the productivity of the postcommunist transition process through comparative analysis of Poland & Hungary. Although communism collapsed in many countries simultaneously, the cause of the collapse & resulting outcomes varied considerably among states. A political economy interpretation of the collapse is advanced that emphasizes the importance of class struggles & international dependence. Although political protest was infrequent prior to the collapse, protest destabilized the weakest regimes, & this destabilization spread throughout the system due to lack of political & military intervention from the Soviet leadership. Strong political opposition in communist Poland led to political reforms without the necessary economic restructuring. Under these circumstances, the political world became strongly factionalized & incapable of implementing effective social or economic reform policies. In contrast, Hungary channeled political resistance into economic concessions & capitalist reforms, which paved the way for a more gradual transition process. These economic reforms eased the transition to democracy & promoted much needed economic stability at a time of social unrest. T. Sevier