Watching the Watchers - Communist Elites, Secret Police Social Order in Cold War Europe

"Secret police are central actors in dictatorships, yet we know very little about these institutions. Exploring communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe, Henry Thomson opens this black box for the first time. This book will appeal to anyone interested in how authoritarian regimes and their secret police forces work"--

List of contents

Part I. Introduction and Theory: 1. Introduction; 2. Theory; Part II. Comparative Historical Analysis: 3. Introduction to part II; 4. The Polish People's Republic; 5. The German Democratic Republic; Part III. Cross-National Quantitative Analysis: 6. Introduction to part III; 7. Elite cohesion and coercive agent tenure; 8. Officers and secret informants; Part IV. Conclusion: 9. Conclusion; Appendix A: Secret police agencies and chiefs; Appendix B: Survival analysis; Appendix C: Agency size analysis.

About the author

Henry Thomson is an Associate Professor in the School of Politics and Global Studies at Arizona State University. He has won fellowships and prizes from the American Political Science Association, Nuffield College, and Australian National University and is the author of Food and Power: Regime Type, Agricultural Policy and Political Stability (2019).

Product details

• Authors: Henry Thomson, Henry (Arizona State University) Thomson
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 29.02.2024
• EAN: 9781009413596
• ISBN: 978-1-0-0941359-6
• No. of pages: 354
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; Eastern Europe, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / General, Regional Studies, Comparative Politics, Political structures: totalitarianism and dictatorship, Regional / International studies, Political structures: totalitarianism & dictatorship, c 1945 to c 2000 (Post-war period), c 1945 to c 1990 (the Cold War period)