An edition of From Reform to Revolution (1994)

From Reform to Revolution

The Demise of Communism in China and the Soviet Union

My Reading Lists:

Create a new list

Check-In

×Close
Add an optional check-in date. Check-in dates are used to track yearly reading goals.
Today


Buy this book

Last edited by MARC Bot
July 14, 2024 | History
An edition of From Reform to Revolution (1994)

From Reform to Revolution

The Demise of Communism in China and the Soviet Union

The demise of communism in the former Soviet Union and the massive political and economic changes in China are the stunning transformations of our century. Two central questions are emerging: Why did different communist systems experience different patterns of transition? Why did partial reforms in the Soviet Union and China turn into revolutions?

This unique analytical and empirical study shows that patterns of regime transition in communist states depend on the countries' preexisting social structures and political and economic institutions. Minxin Pei identifies the rapid mobilization of previously excluded social groups during the reform phase as the most powerful explanation for the revolutionary outcome of initially limited political and economic reforms in the Soviet Union and China.

Pei uses comparative data to analyze the different routes of transition to democracy and a market economy in the Soviet Union, China, and, to a lesser extent, other former communist states in Eastern Europe and Asia. The theory is empirically tested in four case studies of changes in China and the Soviet Union - two on the development of the private sector in each country and two on the liberalization of the mass media.

The author concludes with provocative statements about regime transition from communism. He rejects the idealistic notion that democratization can, by itself, remove the structural obstacles to economic transformation, and he sees high economic and political costs as unavoidable in transition from communism along either the Soviet or the Chinese path.

In comparing Soviet and Chinese transition costs, however, he implicitly endorses the evolutionary changes taking place in China and expresses strong doubt about the revolutionary changes that have occurred in the former Soviet Union.

Publish Date
Language
English
Pages
264

Buy this book

Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: From Reform to Revolution
From Reform to Revolution: The Demise of Communism in China and the Soviet Union
August 19, 1998, Harvard University Press
Hardcover in English
Cover of: From Reform to Revolution
From Reform to Revolution: The Demise of Communism in China and the Soviet Union
January 8, 1998, Harvard University Press
Paperback in English
Cover of: From reform to revolution
From reform to revolution: the demise of communism in China and the Soviet Union
1994, Harvard University Press
in English

Add another edition?

Book Details


The Physical Object

Format
Hardcover
Number of pages
264
Dimensions
9.4 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
Weight
1.2 pounds

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL7692575M
Internet Archive
fromreformtorevo00peim
ISBN 10
067432563X
ISBN 13
9780674325630
Library Thing
4654571
Goodreads
503510

Source records

Internet Archive item record

Community Reviews (0)

Feedback?
No community reviews have been submitted for this work.

Lists

This work does not appear on any lists.

History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON
July 14, 2024 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
August 18, 2020 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
August 4, 2020 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
February 13, 2020 Edited by MARC Bot remove fake subjects
December 10, 2009 Created by WorkBot add works page