Communism and its Collapse

by Stephen White

Ranging from the Russian revolution of 1917 to the collapse of Eastern Europe in the 1980s this study examines Communist rule. By focusing primarily on the USSR and Eastern Europe Stephen White covers the major topics and issues affecting these countries,
* communism as a doctrine
* the evolution of Communist rule
* the challenges to Soviet authority in Hungary and Yugoslavia
* the emerging economic fragility of the 1960s
* the complex process of collapse in the 1980s. Any student or scholar of European history will find this an essential addition to their reading list.

112 pages, Paperback

First published September 11, 2000

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. This entry refers to Stephen {^2} White, author of Russian books. See this thread for more information.

Stephen White is the James Bryce Professor of Politics and a Senior Research Associate of the University's School of Central and East European Studies. He graduated from Trinity College Dublin in history and political science, and then completed a PhD in Soviet studies at Glasgow - including an exchange year at Moscow State University - and a DPhil in politics at Wolfson College Oxford. He is the chief editor of the Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics (Routledge, quarterly), and was for some time also the editor of International Politics (Palgrave, quarterly).

Reviews

[Andrew Lord · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trying to cover this complex and fascinating topic in under 100 pages would be impossibly difficult. As such, the author skims over a great many things that would otherwise be useful information that helps the reader gain a good understanding for what caused communism's hold on eastern Europe to fall apart. I will say that if there *is* a way to cover the fall of Soviet communism in under 100 pages, this would be the least objectionable way to do it, so take that for what you will.

[Selvi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well explained and easy to follow, although if you're not interested in this topic you will quickly give up