The Sociology of Transitions: Post-Communism World
Dr. Sinisa Malesevic
Room 208
Floor 2, Block T
e-mail:sinisa.malesevic@nuigalway.ie
The dramatic and largely unexpected collapse of the state socialism had a significant
impact on the entire world. In a very short period of less then two years (1989-1991)
the world has experienced a radical change in political, economic and ideological
systems in Eastern Europe and Soviet Union. A political order that was in existence
for more then seven decades was gone almost overnight. The large, powerful and
numerous communist parties have changed their names and political programs or have
simply vanished. The ideas of central planning in economy and ‘dictatorship of
proletariat’ in politics have disappeared from the public discourse to be replaced with
the concepts such as ‘market economy’ and ‘liberal democracy’. In addition, the
change in political system was accompanied by the emergence of ethno-nationalism,
which resulted in the break up of three communist federations (Soviet Union,
Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia). The social change was truly dramatic and complete.
In this course we will look at these changes and will try to answer questions such as:
What is communism? What is the relationship between Marxism and state socialism?
Why did communism collapse? Did communist states have any popular legitimacy?
Why did Soviet Union and Yugoslavia break up? What was the position of women in
communism and how it is today? Are there classes in post-communist societies?
The aim of the course is to introduce students to some of these sociological and
political changes of the post-communist world. Students will be familiarised with the
main principles and ideas of state socialism as well as with the theories of the collapse
of communist power in Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union. The changes and
developments in the post-communist world will be analysed and discussed also by
looking at the effects that they have on the rest of the world in an era of intensive
globalisation.
Core texts:
R. Sakwa (1999). Postcommunism. London: Open University Press.
D. Lane (1996). The Rise and Fall of State Socialism. Cambridge: Polity Press.
L. Holmes (1997). Post-Communism: An Introduction. Cambridge: Polity Press.
S. Malesevic (2002) Ideology, Legitimacy and the New State. London: Frank Cass.
Course Programme
Topic 1. Introduction: Communism and Post-Communism in Theory and Practice
Readings:
*Sakwa, Ch1, p.1-8.
* Lane Ch 2, pp.15-35.
* Holmes Ch1, pp.3-22.
* K. Marx & F. Engels (1977). The Communist Manifesto. In K. Marx Selected
Writings. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
* J.A. Hall (1998). A View of a Death: On Communism, Ancient and Modern. Theory
and Society. 27 (4): 509-534.
* G. Eyal & E. Townsley (1995). The Social Composition of the Communist
Nomenklatura: A Comparison of Russia, Poland and Hungary. Theory and Society.
24(5): 723-750.
* M. Maslovski (1996). Max Weber's Concept of Patrimonialism and the Soviet
System. The Sociological Review. 44 (2): 294-308.
* L. Kolakowski (1981). Main Currents of Marxism. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Topic 2. Political Legitimacy and the Communist Order
Readings:
*Malesevic, Ch 2, pp. 84-120
*Sakwa, Ch.3, pp.23-36
*Lane, Ch 7, pp. 135-150
* M. Weber (1968). Economy and Society. New York: Bedminster Press.
C. Lane (1984). Legitimacy and Power in the Soviet Union Through Socialist Ritual
British Journal of Political Science, 14, pp. 207-17.
* T. Rigby (1982). Introduction: Political Legitimacy, Weber and Communist MonoOrganisational Systems in T.Rigby and F. Feher (eds), Political Legitimation in
Communist States. London: Macmillan.
* G. Gill (1982). ‘Personal Dominance and the Collective Principle: Individual
legitimacy in Marxist-Leninist Systems’, in T. Rigby and F. Feher (eds), Political
Legitimation in Communist States, London: Macmillan.
* J. Pakulski (1986). ‘Legitimacy and Mass Compliance: Reflections on Max Weber
and Soviet-type Societies’. British Journal of Political Science 16 (1): 45-63.
Topic 3. – Theories of Communist Collapse
Readings:
* Holmes, Ch 2, pp. 23-62.
* Lane, Ch 8, pp.151- 187.
* Sakwa, Ch 2, pp. 8-22, Ch5, pp.68-85
* R. Collins (1986). Weberian Sociological Theory. Ch. 8 The future decline of the
Russian Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
* J. A. Hall (1994). After the Fall: An analysis of Post-Communism, British Journal
of Sociology. 45 (4).
*L. Ray (1997). Post-Communism: Post-Modernity or Modernity Revisited? British
Journal of Sociology, Vol. 48 (4).
* F. Tarifa (1997). The Quest for Legitimacy and the Withering Away of Utopia.
Social Forces. 76(2): 437-74.
* L. Siedentop (1994). The Ancient Regime and the Revolution (1856) and Full
Circle. Ch.6 from his Tocqueville. pp.113-138.
* R. Dahrendorf (1990). Reflections on the Revolution in Europe. London: Chatto &
Windus.
* M. Cox (1998). Rethinking the Soviet Collapse. London: Pinter.
Topic 4. Class and Status Structure in the Post-Communist Societies
Readings:
* G. Eyal, I. Szelenyi and E. Townsley (1997). The Theory of Post-Communist
Menagerialism. New Left Review. March/April (222): 53-92.
* F. Parkin (1982). System Contradiction and Political Transformation. In: A.
Giddens and D. Held (eds.) Classes, Power and Conflict. London: Macmillan.
* A. Hove (1982). Is There a Ruling Class in the USSR? In: A. Giddens and D. Held
(eds.) Classes, Power and Conflict. London: Macmillan.
* J. K. Hass (1999). The Great Transition: The Dynamics of Market Transitions and
the Case of Russia, 1991-1995. Theory and Society, 28:383-424.
* S. Clarke (1993). Popular Attitudes of the Transition to a Market Economy in the
Soviet Union on the Eve of Reform. The Sociological Review. 41(4): 619-652.
* G. Evans & C. Mills (1999). Are There Classes in Post-communist Societies? A
New Approach to Identifying Class Structure. Sociology. 33 (1):234-68.
Topic 5. Gender Relations in Post-Communist Societies
Readings:
* D. Harsanyi (1993). Women in Romania. In: N. Funk and M. Mueller (eds.) Gender
Politics and Post-Communism: Reflections from Eastern Europe and the former
Soviet Union. London: Routledge.
* A. Heitlinger (1993). The Impact on the Transition from Communism on the Status
of Women in the Czech and Slovak Republics. In: N. Funk and M. Mueller (eds.)
Gender Politics and Post-Communism: Reflections from Eastern Europe and the
former Soviet Union. London: Routledge.
* J. Goven (1993). Gender Politics in Hungary: Autonomy and Antifeminism. In: N.
Funk and M. Mueller (eds.) Gender Politics and Post-Communism: Reflections from
Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. London: Routledge.
* R. Siemienska (1994). The Contemporary Dilemma of the Polish Family and its
Genealogy. The European Journal of Women’s Studies. 1 (2): 207-227.
* J. Heinen (1997). Public/Private: Gender - Social and Political Citizenship in
Eastern Europe. Theory and Society. 26(): 577-597.
Topic 6. – Culture and Religion in Communist and Post-Communist World
Readings:
* P. Ramet (1990). Catholic Tradition, Hierarchy and the Politics of Coexistence
under Communism: An Introduction. In: P. Ramet (ed.) Catholicism and Politics in
Communist Societies. Durham: Duke University Press.
* V. Chypinski (1990). The Catholic Church in 1944-1989 Poland. In: P. Ramet (ed.)
Catholicism and Politics in Communist Societies. Durham: Duke University Press.
* R. Andorka (1995). Recent Changes in Social Structure, Human Relations and
Values in Hungary. Social Compass. 42(1):9-16.
* B. James (1999). Fencing the Past: Budapest Statue Park Museum. Media, Culture
and Society. 21 (3): 291-311.
* M. Svasek (1995). The Soviets Remembered: Liberators or Aggressors? Czech
History, Memory and Memorial Sites. Focaal. 25: 103-124.
* S. Malesevic (1997). The Czech Republic and Slovakia: Two Different Roads to
Cultural Development. In: S. Malesevic (ed.) Culture in Central and Eastern Europe:
Institutional and Value Changes. Zagreb: IMO, pp. 51-69.
Topic 7. – The State and Political System in Communist and Post-Communist Era
Readings:
*Sakwa, Ch 4, pp.37-67.
* Holmes, Ch 7, p. 135-196.
* Lane, Ch 3, p.36- 55.
* Poggi, G. (1990). A New Type of State. In his: The State: Its Nature, Development
and Prospects. Stanford: Stanford University Press, p. 145-172.
* I. Szelenyi & S. Szelenyi (1995). Circulation or Reproduction of Elites During the
Postcommunist Transformation of Eastern Europe. Theory and Society. 24 (1): 615635.
* E. Fodor, E. Wnuk-Lipinski & N. Yershova (1995). The New Political and Cultural
Elite. Theory and Society. 24 (1): 783-800.
* E. Hanley, N. Yershova & R. Anderson (1995). Russia - Old Wine in a New Bottle?
The Circulation and Reproduction of Russian Elites, 1983-1993. Theory and Society.
24(5):639-668.
* J. Wasilewski & E. Wnuk-Lipinski (1995). Poland: Winding Road from the
Communist to the Post-solidarity Elite. Theory and Society. 24(5): 669-696.
* S.Szelenyi, I. Szelenyi & I. Kovach (1995). The Making of the Hungarian
Postcommunist Elite: Circulation in Politics, Reproduction in the Economy. Theory
and Society. 24(5): 697-722.
* G. Hosking, J. Aves & P. Duncan. (1992). The Road to Post-Communism. London:
Pinter.
Topic 8. – Civil Society and New Social Movements in Post-Communist Societies
Readings:
* Holmes, Ch 10, pp. 267-302.
* Lane, Ch 5, pp.83 –113.
* P. Sztompka (1998). Mistrusting Civility: Predicament of a Post-Communist
Society. In: J. Alexander (ed.) Real Civil Societies. London: Sage.
* C. Hann (1995). Philosopher’s Models in the Carphatian Lowlands. In: J. Hall (ed.)
Civil Society. Cambridge: Polity Press.
* W. Wesolowski (1995). The Nature of Social Ties and the Future of PostCommunist Society: Poland After Solidarity. In: J. Hall (ed.) Civil Society.
Cambridge: Polity Press.
* K. Pikvance (1998). Democracy and Grassroots Opposition in Eastern Europe:
Hungary and Russia Compared. The Sociological Review. 46 (2): 187-207.
Topic 9. – Ethnicity and Nationalism in Post-Communist World
Readings:
* R. Brubaker (1996). Nationalism Reframed: Nationhood and the National Question
in the New Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
* R. Brubaker (1998). Myths and misconceptions in the study of nationalism. In: J.
Hall (ed.). The State of the Nation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 272306.
* D. McCrone. (1998). The unforseen revolution: post-communist nationalism (Ch. 8)
in his: The Sociology of Nationalism. London: Routledge.
* V. Vujacic (1996). Historical legacies, nationalist mobilization, and political
outcomes in Russia and Serbia: A Weberian view. Theory and Society. 25(2): 763801.
* A. Juska (1999). Ethno-Political Transformation in the States of The Former USSR.
Ethnic and Racial Studies. 22 (3).
* J. Musil (ed.). (1995). The End of Czechoslovakia. Budapest: Central European
University Press.
* S. Malesevic (2002). From ‘Organic’ Legislators to ‘Organicistic’ Interpreters:
Intellectuals in Yugoslavia and Post-Yugoslav states. Government and Opposition.
37(1) pp. 55-75.
Topic 10. – The Break up of Yugoslavia: Sociological Explanations
Readings:
* Malesevic, Ch 3,4,5, pp. 121-269
* Holmes, Ch 3, pp. 90-98
* S. Malesevic (2000). Ethnicity and Federalism in Communist Yugoslavia and its
Successor States. In: Y. Ghai (ed.) Autonomy and Ethnicity. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, p. 147-170.
* R. Salecl (1994) The Crisis of Identity and the Struggle for New Hegemony in the
Former Yugoslavia. In: Laclau, E. (ed.) The Making of Political Identities: London:
Verso.
* R. Hodson, Sekulic, D. & Massey, G. (1994) National Tolerance in the Former
Yugoslavia. American Journal of Sociology. 99 (6): 1534-58.
* B. Dallago & Uvalic, M. (1998). The Distributive Consequences of Nationalism: the
Case of Former Yugoslavia. Europe-Asia Studies. 50 (1): 71-90.
* L. Cohen (1993). Broken Bonds. The Disintegration of Yugoslavia. Boulder:
Westview.
* N. Popov (ed.). (1999). The Road to War in Serbia. Trauma and Catharsis.
Budapest: Central European University Press.