The Fall: A Comparative Study of the End of Communism in Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary and Poland (International Studies in Global Change) - Hardcover

Saxonberg, Steven

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 905823097X ISBN 13: 9789058230973

Publisher: Routledge, 2001

Synopsis

With a foreword by Seymour Lipset, Hoover Institution and George Mason University, USA

The Fall examines one of the twentieth century's great historical puzzles: why did the communist-led regimes in Eastern Europe collapse so quickly and why was the process of collapse so different from country to country? This major study explains why the impetus for change in Poland and Hungary came from the regimes themselves, while in Czechoslovakia and East Germany it was mass movements which led to the downfall of the regimes.

About this title

About the Author:

Steven Saxonberg is Professor of Sociology at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic. He has published over 50 articles in journals and books on the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe and the post-communist developments in this area. His first book The Fall: A Comparative Study of the End of Communism in Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary and Poland (2001) was awarded second place in the UNESCO Stein Rokkan competition for best book in comparative social science.

Review:

"Saxonberg's study of the similarities and differences in the democratic transitions of the four communist regimes is equally guided by meticulous field research and by a strong analytical apparatus. His treatment of the legitimacy question is especially enlightening."
-Giuseppe Di Palma of University of California at Berkeley
"Steven Saxonberg has provided us with a unique insight into the dynamics that led to the collapse of the four communist regimes in Central Europe. ... The book is a must for anyone interested in democratic transitions."
-Ole Norgaard of Aarhus University, Denmark
"The best comparative analysis of the collapse of Communism to date...[A] must read for anyone interested in Eastern Europe or comparative politics..""
-Mark Thompson of Erlangen University, Germany
"The Fall is highly original, synthesizing neo-institutionalism, Marxism, and political psychology. Saxonberg presents a highly ambitious and complex analysis of thedownfall of communism in Eastern Europe that is well worth our reading."
-Seymore Martin Lipset of George Mason University and The Hoover Institution
"This major work sheds new light on the events of 1989 and should replace several of the established and now much-dated texts. This book should become compulsory reading..."
-Bogdan Szaijkowski of University of Exeter, UK

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 905823097X
• ISBN 13: 9789058230973
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 456