The bloc that failed : Soviet - East European relations in transition

Description

Publisher Synopsis " ... lucid and stimulating ... " --The New York Times Book Review "Essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the new Eastern Europe and the collapse of Soviet control over it--informative and incisive." --Zbigniew Brzezinski "Gati's book ... is the most current and best-informed study of this rapidly changing world... Professor Gati is uniquely qualified to understand and give perspective to the impact of perestroika and Soviet 'new thinking' on the events in Eastern Europe." --William H. Luers, Former U. S. Ambassador to Czechoslovakia " ... a superb synthesis of the postwar evolution of Soviet-East European relations and the first up-to-date analysis of the revolutionary events in that part of the world in 1989." --Michael Mandelbaum, Council on Foreign Relations "An up-to-date and lucid overview of the troubled course of Soviet-East European relations at time of momentous change in the Soviet bloc." --Sarah M. Terry " ... excellent analysis and synthesis ... " --Foreign Affairs "this book is written in a lively style and is a good scholarly synthesis of the post-Second World War evolution of Soviet-East European relations ending in the revolutionary events of 1989." --Canadian Journal of Political Science " ... a lively and perceptive account ... " --Military Review "Clearly and simply written, this book is particularly useful as a compact introduction to the prehistory and transformation of East European politics." --Choice "It is well organized, readable, and sensitive to complexity; find the time to read it." --History Revolution swept each of the six Warsaw Pact countries of Eastern Europe in 1988-89. The dramatic events began somewhat gradually in Poland and in Hungary, then continued in rapid succession during the fall and early winter of 1989 in East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and finally Romania. Amazingly, the region's old communist guard stepped aside, peacefully, except in Romania where a tragic and gruesome civil war claimed hundreds and perhaps thousands of lives. Equally surprising is that the East European revolutions have far outstripped the reforms Mikhail S. Gorbachev introduced in the Soviet Union. This will lead to increased popular demand for more drastic and comprehensive changes within the Soviet Union itself in the 1990s. With Moscow unwilling to use force to protect the East European communist parties from their own people, these unpopular and mostly corrupt parties have lost their monopoly of power. Popular expectations in all six Warsaw Pact countries now suggest a desire to adopt Western-style political and economic institutions and practices. Thus, the Soviet bloc as it has existed since Stalin has in effect disintegrated; the countries of Eastern Europe are now on their own. With the collapse of the region's one-party communist regimes, the first stage of Eastern Europe's remarkable revolution has ended. The second stage, which will involve the creation of new institutions of political and economic pluralism, will take several years. The third stage will be an even slower process, during which a variety of internal measures and international guarantees will consolidate the gains of the revolution, allowing Eastern Europe to rejoin the European community of nations. CONTENTS PREFACE IX Part One: Looking Back I. STALIN AND SOCIALISM IN ONE REGION 3 Strange Bedfellows, 3 I Satellization, 9 I Early Problems, 13 I Sovietization, 18 I What Did Stalin Achieve? 23 II. FROM KHRUSHCHEV TO CHERNENKO: AN OVERVIEW 29 Post-Stalin Soviet Concerns, 29 I Recasting Policy toward Eastern Europe, 32 I Yugoslavia and National Communism, 35 I Crises in the Bloc: Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland (1956-81), 39 I From Khrushchev to Chernenko: What Changed? What Didn't? 55 Part Two: The Era of Reform, 1985-88 III. POLITICAL RELATIONS 65 The Early Gorbachev Era: Cure or Relief? 65 I The Gradual Demise of the "Brezhnev Doctrine, " 71 I The Institutional Framework, 79 I The Ties They Are A-Changin , 87 I Summing Up, 99 IV ECONOMIC RELATIONS 104 The Elusive Concept of Socialism, 104 I The Urgency of Change, 106 I The Economics and Politics of Trade, 113 I Why CMEA Does Not Work, 124 I Summing Up and Looking Ahead, 132 V MILITARY RELATIONS 136 Defense against Whom? 136 I The East European Militaries, 143 I Causes of Tension in Military Relations, 147 I Gorbachev's Choices, 150 I Courting Trouble, 154 Part Three: The Era of Revolutionary Change, Since 1988 VI. MOSCOW RETREATS 161 From Reform to Revolution, 161 I From Poland to Romania, 167 I Summing Up, 185 VII. THE BRAVE NEW WORLD OF EASTERN EUROPE 191 The Soviet Factor, 191 I East European Prospects, 197 I Western Concerns, 201 appendix: A Soviet View of Eastern Europe 205 SOURCES AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING 220 INDEX 223