Reinventing politics : Eastern Europe from Stalin to Havel

Reinventing Politics gives an account of East European politics from the time of Soviet domination to the 1989-90 revolutions, and considers the effect of tyranny on East European culture and politics, the chances for successful and harmonious development in the region, and its relationship with the rest of Europe. "Using primary materials from Eastern European democratic movements, Tismaneanu shows how dissident enclaves, grassroots political groups, independent unions and underground initiatives spearheaded the spontaneous outbursts of discontent that led to the nonviolent collapse of communist dictatorships...In an illuminating, exciting comparative analysis of the breakup of the Soviet Union's outer empire, Tismaneanu ...identifies bureaucratic inertia, renascent authoritarian tendencies and the lure of populist adventurers as key obstacles to democracy." — Publishers Weekly Will the nations of Eastern Europe become liberal democracies? How has more than 40 years of totalitarian rule transformed the East European psyche? How ill the emerging realities of Eastern Europe affect the rest of Europe and the world? In an effort to answer these questions, Romanian-born scholar Vladimir Tismaneuanu chronicles the turbulent history of this embattled region, from the decades of Soviet domination to the momentous events leading up to and following the Revolution of 1989. He views Eastern Europe as being on the threshold of a great opportunity -- to become reunited, through pan-European arrangements, with the West, and thereby recover its truly European identity. -- From publisher's description The revolutionary upheaval of 1989 that led to the collapse of apparently well-entrenched communist regimes was one of those epoch-making events that shape the world.