The upheavals that toppled the East European regimes in 1989 exposed the realities of the communist system. Denied for decades, especially in the Third World, the truth was finally exposed. Because it was the enemy of the old colonial powers, …
It was always unlikely that the democratization of public life in the Soviet Union would continue if combined with a collapsing economy, a disintegrating political system, and internal separatism. Something had to give, and the most likely victim was democratization. …
Without an imaginative utopian dimension, socialist thought remains excessively rooted in the present. It ends up as something very worthwhile, that is, the reform of the existing system; but it remains restricted to what is “realistic” within the existing order. …
Yugoslavia is now irreversibly on the road to a multiparty system as the framework in which both the fate of democracy and the future of the Yugoslav federation will be determined. That at least is quite certain, although the fate …
Yugoslavia entered on the long, crooked road to political and economic reforms as far back as 1948-50. Starting without previous signposts, the Yugoslav Communists have been on it for four decades; thus, their experiences and errors are relevant to both …
The familiar debate about the prospects for capitalism and socialism has taken a sharp turn as a result of three new trends transforming the politics of the world. In brief, these are the collapse of the communist dictatorships in Eastern …
Increased economic political integration of the European Community in 1992, combined with the penetration of national economies by the world market, make it necessary for the West European labor movements to shift their strategies in a less national and parochial …
Mass popular and nationalist demonstrations throughout the Republic of Serbia, an inflation reaching over 230 percent, faltering economic performance, and growing public acrimony within the ruling party, the League of Communists (LCY)—these are a few symptoms of the current crisis …
It is impossible to discuss U.S. defense policy without locating it within an examination of foreign policy in all its ramifications. A discussion that limits itself to questions of technology and hardware on the one hand, or grotesque costs on …
The longevity of the East European Communist systems—they have lasted over 35 years—poses a serious question: what are the sources of social stability and legitimacy in these societies? In the late ’40s and early ’50s most specialists assumed that, except …
It is essential for people of the democratic left to begin a fundamental examination of the assumptions behind U.S. defense policy—because Reagan continues to follow, in magnified form, a trend that began under the Carter administration. There has been broad …
An unanticipated consequence of the Reagan administration’s foreign and defense postures may well be the creation of a massive West European peace movement. This movement has spread throughout the NATO alliance. Not having a unified direction, it shows great local …
With the following comment we continue the informal discussion among Dissent editors regarding the changed international situation after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The next issue will carry further comment by other editors.—Eds The parochialism of American liberal intellectuals is …
Eurocommunism is not a homogeneous movement, but some common elements do exist. One central problem, which arises both on practical and basic theoretical grounds, lies in the relationships between the Communist parties of Western Europe and the Soviet party, and between the vision of “socialism” advanced by …
Our perceptions of Communist politics in Western Europe are critically linked to periods in the past. Is it our memories of the CPs in their pre-Stalinist forms—sectarian, aggressive, ultra-left parties; or of the CPs in the Popular Front period—Stalinized, endlessly …
