Communist Legacies Eastern Europe
Introduction
This essay aims to understand the impact of communism on Central and Eastern Europe whilst examining the concept of post-communism within the region. Before expanding on the impression left by communism in this it is important to know which countries constitute this region. The region collectively termed as Central and Eastern Europe includes countries the following countries, People’s Republic of Poland, German Democratic Republic, Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, People 's Republic of Hungary, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Socialist Republic of Romania, People 's Republic of Bulgaria and Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Post Communism is the name given in the 1990’s to socialist or social democratic parties that arose as successors to the pre-1989 communist parties. As a concept it is the rejection of the communist system including beliefs, principals, practices and ideologies. After the strong wave of communism, especially in the Soviet states, post communism in essence made a rise by displaying rejection of Soviet domination. The communist rule lasted in these countries for nearly forty years, however near its time of collapse, it had failed to sustain itself. It must be understood that Communist regimes in these regions were not authoritarian or totalitarian in nature. In 2000, Brown undertook a study examining the transition of the political scene from communism to democracy. Brown outlines the five main characteristics of communism, as quoted below, “(1) The supreme authority and unchallengeable hegemony of the Communist Party, for which the official euphemism was ‘the leading role of the party’;
(2) A high degree of centralization and discipline within that organization with very narrowly defined rights of intraparty debate—which was what ‘democratic centralism’ meant in practice;
(3) State or, at any rate, non private ownership of the means of production, with exceptions sometimes made for agricultural, but not for
This essay aims to understand the impact of communism on Central and Eastern Europe whilst examining the concept of post-communism within the region. Before expanding on the impression left by communism in this it is important to know which countries constitute this region. The region collectively termed as Central and Eastern Europe includes countries the following countries, People’s Republic of Poland, German Democratic Republic, Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, People 's Republic of Hungary, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Socialist Republic of Romania, People 's Republic of Bulgaria and Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Post Communism is the name given in the 1990’s to socialist or social democratic parties that arose as successors to the pre-1989 communist parties. As a concept it is the rejection of the communist system including beliefs, principals, practices and ideologies. After the strong wave of communism, especially in the Soviet states, post communism in essence made a rise by displaying rejection of Soviet domination. The communist rule lasted in these countries for nearly forty years, however near its time of collapse, it had failed to sustain itself. It must be understood that Communist regimes in these regions were not authoritarian or totalitarian in nature. In 2000, Brown undertook a study examining the transition of the political scene from communism to democracy. Brown outlines the five main characteristics of communism, as quoted below, “(1) The supreme authority and unchallengeable hegemony of the Communist Party, for which the official euphemism was ‘the leading role of the party’;
(2) A high degree of centralization and discipline within that organization with very narrowly defined rights of intraparty debate—which was what ‘democratic centralism’ meant in practice;
(3) State or, at any rate, non private ownership of the means of production, with exceptions sometimes made for agricultural, but not for
References: • Schöpfiln, G., 2009. 1989 with 20/20 hindsight. [online]. Available at: http://schopflin.fidesz-eu.hu/news_display/1989_with_20_20_hindsight/ [accessed on: 3/1/2013] • Guerra, S., 2011. The Legacy of the Communist Past and the Process of Democratisation: the case of Poland. (July 2011). [Online] Available at: • http://www.officinadellastoria.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=224:the-legacy-of-the-communist-past-and-the-process-of-democratization-the-case-of-poland&catid=63:integrazione-e-regionalismi&Itemid=90 [accessed on 3/1/2013]