Wk10 - Politics in Central and Eastern Europe

Question 1

What are the two regions?

Answer 1

• Central Europe: Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland.
• The Balkans: Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, former Yugoslavia.

Question 2

Background to CEE?

Answer 2

• two regions.
• empire domination impacted politics and the economy - the Hapsburg, Prussia and Russian empires in C. Europe and the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans. Balkans - comparatively weaker development of the economy to those countries in the centre side of the CEE. Presence of authoritarianism.
• WW1 under right-wing authoritarian dictatorships.
  WW2 Soviet Influence.
• the sphere of infleunce was very important during WW2 and especially during the Cold War.
• By 1947 there were 9 Communist states

Question 3

What were the nine communist states?

Answer 3

• Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, GDR, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Yugoslavia.

Question 4

What is the CEE term?

Answer 4

• a political term, not necessarily geographically accurate.
• used as a term to refer to this particular geographical region and the influence of the Soviet Union.
• support for communism diverged

Question 5

How was Communist support diverged?

Answer 5

• popular support for communism in Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia.
• weak communist regimes in Albania, Bulgaria, GDR, Hungary, Poland, Romania - maintained through USSR military threat.

Question 6

What are Gait’s ‘satellisation’ and ‘sovietisation’?

Answer 6

• satellisation refers more to the influence of the Soviet Union over these particular countries.
• sovietisation is the reconfiguration of the domestic architecture of these states to fit the Soviet model.
• both describe the power relations between these two blocs.

Question 7

Key characteristics of the CEE?

Answer 7

• close integration at political, military and economic levels with Soviet Union.
• communist party dominance, centralised power.
• public economy, centralised planning.
• direct control of institutions and social movements: including the press, unions, churches, courts, etc.
• dominance of Marxism-Lenism.

Question 8

…

Answer 8

• 1949 Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) (economic)
• 1947-1956 Communist Information Bureau (Cominform) (economic)
• 1955 Warsaw Pact – military cooperation (same year as NATO)

Question 9

What was the 1949 Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA)?

Answer 9

• Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Romania.
• Objective: balance out the involvement of the US and maintaining the spread of communism in check.
• Main focus - economic cooperation and providing technical aid, assistance and development of raw materials and industrial equipment. Parallel ideas of trade and cooperation which was being advanced by the West.
• expanded its membership to other countries, e.g., Vietnam joined later.

Question 10

What was the 1947-1956 Communist Information Bureau (Cominform)?

Answer 10

• all states but Yugoslavia joined.
• Cominform - way to ensure Soviet control in the bloc and was focused on the development of collective industry.

Question 11

What was the 1955 Warsaw Pact?

Answer 11

• same year as NATO.
• military cooperation.
• Albania (withdrew 1961), Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, GDR.
• Experienced several moments of crisis, notably in the 1960s and towards the end of the same decade.
• Prague spring – consolidation of the Warsaw Pact.

Question 12

Differential adaptation to Communism:

Answer 12

• variation in control from the Soviet Union:
  + Hungary, Yugoslavia greater control over economies - to the point of implementing some instances of decentralisation.
  + Poland and Yugoslavia agriculture remained in private hands (Hancock, 2018:591; Gowland, 2006)
  + Poland, the Catholic Church was independent from the state and the civil society more extensive. There was freedom within the Church and civil society was more active.

Question 13

Examples of protests and revolts:

Answer 13

• 1953 GDR strikes
• 1956 Hungarian coup
• 1968 Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia
• 1986 Brezhnev Doctrine - responsibility of Communist parties (challenged in 1985).
  Poland’s protests - 1956, 1968, 1971, 1976

Question 13

Why did the GDR strikes occur?

Answer 13

• due to suppression by the Soviet Union.
• closed to the West - this was physically done through the construction of the Berlin Wall.

Question 14

1956 - Hungarian coup:

Answer 14

• soviet army remained until 1991.
• thousands imprisoned
• most oppressive regime within CEE.

Question 15

1968 Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia:

Answer 15

• some attempts at the time of shifting the approach towards an open market. This was in contrast to the dominance of the Communist model - attempts of reformism didn’t progress.
• 1968: Soviet tanks and thousands of Warsaw Pact troops until 1989.

Question 16

Key Poland protests:

Answer 16

• 1956: Polish October Revolution
• 1980: Solidarity Solidarność was founded - trade union that spread nationwide protests to pursue better wages and demand the reinstating of some mass layoffs that had happened.
• 1981: martial law imposed.

Question 17

What caused the fall of communist regimes?

Answer 17

• 1985 Gorbachev repeals Brezhnev Doctrine after gaining power.
• “No one has the right to claim a special position in the socialist world. The independence of each Party, its responsibility to its own people, the right to resolve questions of the country’s development in a sovereign way-for us, these are indisputable principles.”
• initially Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the GDR and Romania became more repressive.

Question 18

1989 transitions:

Answer 18

• decline of communism, increased currency debts and low economic growth.
• Poland debt - 41 bn and 20 bn in Hungary.
• Poland and Hungary: negotiated reform.
• Romania: violent coup.
  GDR: reunification with West Germany.
  1993 Czechoslovakia: Czech and Slovak Republics.
• Yugoslavia: ethnic and religious divides and the civil war that ensued.

Question 19

Political reform:

Answer 19

• depended on the revolution that took place - the change was slower in Poland and Hungary.
• influence of parties in post-communist states depended on the kind of revolution.
• Poland and Hungary above: political change slower, negotiation of election rules, limited opposition.
• GDR, Czechoslovakia - below: communist party little involvement.

Question 20

Economic reform:

Answer 20

• gradual approach - changes have to take around a decade and must be progressive. The rationale behind this to protect the most vulnerable groups in society.
• shock therapy: Poland : Poland “Balcerowicz Plan” and Hungary “Bokros austerity package”. Changes are abrupt - price liberalisation, privatisation, etc - but must happen abruptly.
• incremental transition: Czech and Slovak Republics.
• no reform in Romania until 1996.

Question 21

What are the short-term effects of economic reform?

Answer 21

• recession
• rise and fall in unemployment - e.g. in Poland there was a swift change from 6% in 1990 to 17% in 2003 in employment.
• hyperinflation - Poland was around 500% and dropped in the late 90s.
• malnutrition ad poverty were also common - Poland reached 44% in 1992 and in Romania this was 41%.

Question 22

Governments and parliaments - post-communism:

Answer 22

• not rooted in society and emerged quite abruptly, unfocused emergence.
• traditional cleavages (centre-periphery, state/church, urban/rural, etc) are not present.
• key cleavage: former communists vs anti-communist (Hancock, 2018:593).Anchor to emergence of parties.
•  ‘Proto-parties’: members from all parts of the political spectrum (Gowland, 2006:247). Also they tend to be quite immature parties that may not fulfil expectations
• fragmentation - solidarity split unto 15 different parties between 1989 and 1991.

Question 23

What is civil society?

Answer 23

• loosely defined term but it could be considered as uncoerced collective action, pursuit of common interests, purposes and values.
• the presence of a civil society and an active participation are signs of a healthy democracy.
  varied composition, level of autonomy and power.

Question 25

Civil society in Poland:

Answer 25

• strong civil society rooted in the values of patriotism, social justice, freedom and religion.
• independent media
• history of unionism present - presence of trade unions.
• high number of foundations, societies, NGOs (comparative to other CEE states).
• 2020: until then there were 100,000 NGOs registered in Poland.

Question 26

Civil society in Hungary:

Answer 26

• weaker civil society.
• some signs of repression post-1956 (failed) revolution.
• media repressed under present govt.

Question 27

Civil society in Romania:

Answer 27

• civil society very weak
• extreme economic and political suppression under communism.

Question 28

Interest groups: