Department of Political Science
Kuban State University
Spring 1994
THE COLLAPSE OF COMMUNISM: WESTERN VIEWS
The collapse of that system of power which the world knew as "communism" (among its various labels) has generated an enormous amount of scholarly discussion among Western historians and social scientists. The nature and causes of the collapse presents us with an issue of the first-rate importance, and, as such, it is ideally suited for helping us learn how to evaluate or "test" social science explanations. The purpose of this course, therefore, is to analyse the existing academic literature on this subject, and to see how well it answers a few crucial questions: What was "communism"? Why did it collapse? What will be the legacy of the system? As we read each article in the class reader, we will try to pinpoint the author's argument, to identify the key causal claims, and to evaluate the evidence put forth. Over the course of 12 weeks, we will read 26 articles (about two a week), all of which will be put under close scrutiny and critical examination by me, the professor, and you, the student.
SCHEDULE OF READINGS
Martin Malia, "Leninist Endgame," Daedalus (Spring, 1992), pp. 57-75.
George Kennan, "Communism in Russian History," Foreign Affairs (Winter, 1990/91), pp. 168-186.
Seweryn Bialer, "The Death of Soviet Communism," Foreign Affairs, (Winter, 1991/92), pp. 166-181.
S.N. Eisenstadt, "The Breakdown of Communist Regimes and the Vicissitudes of Modernity," Daedalus (Spring, 1992), pp. 21-41.
Ernest Gellner, "Homeland of the Unrevolution," Daedalus (Summer, 1993), pp. 141-153.
Leszek Kolakowski, "Amidst Moving Ruins," Daedalus (Spring, 1992), pp. 43-56.
Valerie Bunce, "Domestic Reform and International Change: The Gorbachev Reforms in Historical Perspective," International Organization (Winter, 1993). pp. 107-138.
Daniel Chirot, "Introduction" and "What Happened in Eastern Europe in 1989?" in Daniel Chirot, ed. The Crisis of Leninism and the Decline of the Left: The Revolutions of 1989 (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1991), pp. ix.-xv.; and 3-33.
Kenneth Jowitt, "The Leninist Extinction," in Chirot, ed., 1991, pp. 74-99.
Bruce Cummings, "Illusion, Critique, and Responsbility: The 'Revolution of '89' in West and East," in Chirot, ed., 1991, pp. 100-128.
Elizabeth J. Perry, "Intellectuals and Tiananmen: Historical Perspective on an Aborted Revolution," in Chirot, ed. 1991, pp. 129-146.
Fred Halliday, "The Ends of Cold War," in Robin Blackburn, ed. After the Fall: The Failure of Communism and the Future of Socialism (London: Verso Press, 1991), pp. 78-99; and response by Edward Thompson, pp. 100-109; and reply by Halliday, pp. 110-114.
Eric Hobsbawm, "Goodbye to All That," in Blackburn, ed., 1991, pp. 115-125.
Charles H. Fairbanks, Jr. "Introduction" to "The Strange Death of Soviet Communism," The National Interest, (Spring, 1993), pp. 5-8.
Francis Fukuyama, "The Modernizing Imperative: The USSR as an Ordinary Country," The National Interest (Spring, 1993), pp. 10-18.
Myron Rush, "Fortune and Fate," The National Interest (Spring, 1993), pp. 19-25.
Stephen Sestanovich, "Did the West Undo the East," The National Interest (Spring, 1993), pp. 26-34.
Vladimir Kontorovich, "The Economic Fallacy," The National Interest, (Spring, 1993), pp. 35-45.
Charles H. Fairbanks, Jr., "The Nature of the Beast," The National Interest, (Spring, 1993), pp. 46-56.
Peter Reddaway, "The Role of Popular Discontent," The National Interest (Spring, 1993), pp. 57-63.
Richard Pipes, "1917 and the Revisionists," The National Interest (Spring, 1993), pp. 68-79.
Martin Malia, "A Fatal Logic," The National Interest (Spring, 1993), pp. 80-90.
Robert Conquest, "Academe and the Soviet Myth," The National Interest (Spring, 1993), pp. 91-98.
William Odom, "The Pluralist Image," The National Interest (Spring, 1993), pp. 99-108.
Peter Rutland, "Sovietology: Notes for a Post-Mortem," The National Interest (Spring, 1993), pp. 109-122.
Zbigniew Brzezinski, "The Great Transformation," The National Interest (Fall, 1993), pp. 3-13.