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From the hardening grip of Soviet domination under Brezhnev to the collapse of communism and its aftermath, Bulent Gokay provides the essential introduction to Eastern Europe in the last quarter of the twentieth century. The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 spelt the end of reformist communism and the tightening of Soviet control throughout Eastern Europe. In spite of this, several countries within the Soviet Bloc managed to retain varying degrees of independence over the next two decades. Focusing on the struggle towards economic and social modernisation in the region and the competing influences of East and West in a dangerous Cold War. Bulent Gokay shows how individual circumstances and diverse national characteristics made a uniform application of the Soviet model impossible, and charts the growing resistance to domination and the momentous events which finally toppled Soviet power in the region.
Table des matières
Introduction to the Series Vll Note on Referencing System Vlll List of Figures and Tables viii Acknowledgements ix Maps x-xn Chronology Xlll 1. INTRODUCTION: UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT OF CHANGE 1 The Geopolitics of Eastern Europe 1 The Controversies over the Causes of Communism's Collapse in Eastern Europe 6 Aims of this Book 9 PART ONE: BACKGROUND 11 2. EASTERN EUROPE AFTER STALIN, 1953-69 13 East-Central Europe 14 The Balkans 18 PART TWO: ANALYSIS 23 3. POLITICS 25 1970s: A Period of Normalisation and the 'Brezhnev Doctrine' 26 1980s: Hesitation at the Top and Revolt from Below 37 4. EAST EUROPEAN ECONOMIES 45 The Key Components of the Communist Economic System 46 Council of Mutual Economic Aid (COMECON) 48 1970s: Pressure for Reform 49 1980s: Crisis in the East European Economies 59 Reasons for Economic Failure 66 5. THE COLLAPSE 69 The Results of Economic Failure 69 Gorbachev and the Impact of Change in the Soviet Union 72 Political Challenge: The Snowball Effect, 1989-91 75 An Overview of the Collapse 84 Vl Contents PART THREE: ASSESSMENT 87 6. POST-COMMUNIST TRANSITIONS: OLD PATTERNS, NEW TRENDS 89 Dilemmas of Transition 90 The Tragedy of Yugoslavia 93 PART FOUR: DOCUMENTS 97 Glossary 138 Who's Who 143 Bibliography 149 Index
A propos de l'auteur
Bulent Gokay
Résumé
An accessible yet comprehensive introduction to this crucial period in Cold War history.
