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From the internationally acclaimed Oxford authority on
Communism, a definitive history that examines the origins of the
ideology, its development in different nations, its collapse in
many of those countries following perestroika, and its current
incarnations around the globe.
"The Rise and Fall of Communism" explores how and why Communists
came to power; how they were able, in a variety of countries on
different continents, to hold on to power for so long; and what
brought about the downfall of so many Communist systems.
For this comprehensive and illuminating work, Brown draws on
more than forty years of research and on a wealth of new sources.
Tracing the story of Communism from its nineteenth-century roots,
Brown explains both its expansion and its decline in the twentieth
century. Even today, although Communism has been widely discredited
in the West, more than a fifth of humanity still lives under its
rule.
How the Cold War ended - and the people who made it happen In this
penetrating analysis of the role of political leadership in the
Cold War's ending, Archie Brown shows why the popular view that
Western economic and military strength left the Soviet Union with
no alternative but to admit defeat is wrong. To understand the
significance of the parts played by Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald
Reagan and Margaret Thatcher in East-West relations in the second
half of the 1980s, Brown addresses several specific questions: What
were the values and assumptions of these leaders, and how did their
perceptions evolve? What were the major influences on them? To what
extent were they reflecting the views of their own political
establishment or challenging them? How important for ending the
East-West standoff were their interrelations? Would any of the
realistically alternative leaders of their countries at that time
have pursued approximately the same policies? The Cold War got
colder in the early 1980s and the relationship between the two
military superpowers, the USA and the Soviet Union, each of whom
had the capacity to annihilate the other, was tense. By the end of
the decade, East-West relations had been utterly transformed, with
most of the dividing lines -including the division of Europe-
removed. Engagement between Gorbachev and Reagan was a crucial part
of that process of change. More surprising was Thatcher's role.
Regarded by Reagan as his ideological and political soulmate, she
formed also a strong and supportive relationship with Gorbachev
(beginning three months before he came to power). Promoting
Gorbachev in Washington as a man to do business with, she became,
in the words of her foreign policy adviser Sir Percy Cradock, an
agent of influence in both directions.
* UPDATED WITH A NEW FOREWORD BY THE AUTHOR * CHOSEN BY BILL GATES
AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR 2016 Archie Brown challenges the widespread
belief that 'strong leaders', dominant individual wielders of
power, are the most successful and admirable. Within authoritarian
regimes, a collective leadership is a lesser evil compared with a
personal dictatorship. Within democracies, although 'strong
leaders' are seldom as strong or independent as they purport to be,
the idea that just one person is entitled to take the big decisions
is harmful and should be resisted. Examining Franklin D. Roosevelt
and Mikhail Gorbachev, Deng Xiaoping and Nelson Mandela, Margaret
Thatcher and Tony Blair amongst many others, this landmark study
pinpoints different types and qualities of leadership. Overturning
the popular notion of the strong leader, it makes us rethink
preconceptions about what it means to lead.
In this penetrating analysis of the role of political leadership in
the Cold War's ending, Archie Brown shows why the popular view that
Western economic and military strength left the Soviet Union with
no alternative but to admit defeat is wrong. To understand the
significance of the parts played by Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald
Reagan and Margaret Thatcher in East-West relations in the second
half of the 1980s, Brown addresses several specific questions: What
were the values and assumptions of these leaders, and how did their
perceptions evolve? What were the major influences on them? To what
extent were they reflecting the views of their own political
establishment or challenging them? How important for ending the
East-West standoff were their interrelations? Would any of the
realistically alternative leaders of their countries at that time
have pursued approximately the same policies? The Cold War got
colder in the early 1980s and the relationship between the two
military superpowers, the USA and the Soviet Union, each of whom
had the capacity to annihilate the other, was tense. By the end of
the decade, East-West relations had been utterly transformed, with
most of the dividing lines -including the division of Europe-
removed. Engagement between Gorbachev and Reagan was a crucial part
of that process of change. More surprising was Thatcher's role.
Regarded by Reagan as his ideological and political soulmate, she
formed also a strong and supportive relationship with Gorbachev
(beginning three months before he came to power). Promoting
Gorbachev in Washington as a man to do business with, she became,
in the words of her foreign policy adviser Sir Percy Cradock, an
agent of influence in both directions.
Mikhail Gorbachev and Zdenek Mlynar were friends for half a
century, since they first crossed paths as students in 1950.
Although one was a Russian and the other a Czech, they were both
ardent supporters of communism and socialism. One took part in
laying the groundwork for and carrying out the Prague spring; the
other opened a new political era in Soviet world politics.
In 1993 they decided that their conversations might be of
interest to others and so they began to tape-record them. This book
is the product of that "thinking out loud" process. It is an
absorbing record of two friends trying to explain to one another
their views on the problems and events that determined their
destinies. From reminiscences of their starry-eyed university days
to reflections on the use of force to "save socialism" to
contemplation of the end of the cold war, here is a far more candid
picture of Gorbachev than we have ever seen before.
This volume analyzes various aspects of the political leadership
during the collapse of the Soviet Union and formation of a new
Russia. Comparing the rule of Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, and
Vladimir Putin, the book reflects upon their goals, governing
style, and sources of influence --as well as factors that
influenced their activities and complicated them too. Contents
Introduction Archie Brown Transformational Leaders Compared:
Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin Archie Brown Evaluating
Gorbachev and Yeltsin as Leaders George W. Breslauer From Yeltsin
to Putin: The Evolution of Presidential Power Lilia Shevtsova
Political Leadership and the Center-Periphery Struggle: Putin's
Administrative Reforms Eugene Huskey Conclusion Lilia Shevtsova
Winner of the 2010 W.J.M. Mackenzie Prize for Best Political
Science Book of the Year 2010 The relentless rise of Communism was
the most momentous political development of the first half of the
twentieth century. No political change has been more fundamental
than its demise in Europe and its decline elsewhere. In this hugely
acclaimed book Archie Brown provides an indispensable history that
examines the origins of the ideology, its development in different
countries, its collapse in many states following the Soviet
perestroika, and its current incarnations around the globe. The
Rise and Fall of Communism explains how and why Communists came to
power; how they were able, in a variety of countries on different
continents to hold on to power for so long; and what brought about
the downfall of so many Communist systems. A groundbreaking work
from an internationally renowned specialist, this is the definitive
study of the most remarkable political and human story of our
times.
The only Reader on post-Soviet Russian politics, this important book brings together the best published work from a wide variety of sources. Unusually for a Reader, it also includes many up-to-date, specially commissioned contributions. Some forty of the world's leading specialists on Russian politics, a third of them Russians, make this the most comprehensive and authoritative guide to political institutions and processes in Putin's Russia.
This book is a rigorously argued and lively interpretation of the
transformation of the Soviet system, the disintegration of the
Soviet state, the end of the Cold War, and the role of Mikhail
Gorbachev. Written by a leading authority on Soviet politics, this
thoroughly researched book draws on new archival sources and puts
perestroika in fresh perspective.
Perestroika began as an attempt by a minority within the
leadership of the Communist Party to reform the Soviet system. The
decisive role was played by the new General Secretary, Mikhail
Gorbachev. Perestroika (reconstruction) developed into an attempt
to move from Communism to competitive elections and a market
economy of a social democratic type. This 'revolution from above'
had profound consequences, both intended and unintended. The latter
included the dissolution of the Soviet state. Four of the ten
chapters were written in 'real time'--in the second half of the
1980s while perestroika was still underway. The other six chapters
provide an up-to-date discussion of such important issues as the
stimuli to perestroika, its intellectual origins and development,
its influence on other countries and their influence on
developments in the Soviet Union, and the ending of the Cold War.
Archie Brown takes issue with a number of popular interpretations
of perestroika--and of the end of the Cold War--and draws on new
archival sources in a book which is both clearly and vigorously
argued and well documented.
How decisive for the dramatic changes the world has seen in the last decade was the Gorbachev factor? What kind of man made possible such a massive transformation of his own country, Europe, and the world? Now in paperback, Archie Brown's groundbreaking and highly acclaimed work answers these questions in fascinating detail.
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