Perceptions of Society in Communist Europe: Regime Archives and Popular Opinion

Blaive, Muriel (Editor)

ISBN 10: 1350051713 / ISBN 13: 9781350051713

Published by Bloomsbury USA Academic, 2018

About this Item

256 pages. 9.50x6.50x1.25 inches. In Stock.

Seller Inventory # x-1350051713

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Perceptions of Society in Communist Europe: Regime Archives and Popular Opinion
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Academic
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1350051713
• ISBN 13: 9781350051713
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Brand New
• Weight: 0.54 kilograms

About this title

Synopsis

Drawing on archival sources from Czechoslovakia, Poland, East Germany, Romania and Bulgaria, Perceptions of Society in Communist Europe considers whether and to what extent communist regimes cared about popular opinion, how they obtained their information, and how it helped them implement and maintain their rule.

Contrary to popular belief, communist regimes sought to legitimise their domination with minimal resort to violence in order to maintain their everyday power. This entailed a permanent negotiation process between the rulers and the ruled, with public approval of governmental policies becoming key to their success. By analysing topics such as a Stalinist musical in Czechoslovakia, workers' letters to the leadership in Romania, children's television in Poland and the figure of the secret agent in contemporary culture, as well as many more besides, Muriel Blaive and the contributors demonstrate the potential of social history to deconstruct parochial national perceptions of communism.

This cutting-edge volume is a vital resource for academics, postgraduates and advanced undergraduates studying East-Central European history, Stalinism and comparative communism.

About the Author

Muriel Blaive is Advisor to the Director for Research and Methodology at the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, Czech Republic. She is the editor, together with Christian Gerbel and Thomas Lindenberger, of Clashes in European Memory: The Case of Communist Repression and the Holocaust (2010).