The Oxford Handbook of the History of Communism (Oxford Handbooks)

Draws on documentation released since the fall of the Soviet Union to offer a global history of communism in the twentieth century. The Impact Of Communism On The Twentieth Century Was Massive, Equal To That Of The Two World Wars. Until The Fall Of The Soviet Union In 1991, Historians Knew Relatively Little About The Secretive World Of Communist States And Parties. Since Then, The Opening Of State, Party, And Diplomatic Archives Of The Former Eastern Bloc Has Released A Flood Of New Documentation. The Thirty-five Essays In This 'handbook', Written By An International Team Of Scholars, Draw On This New Material To Offer A Global History Of Communism In The Twentieth Century. In Contrast To Many Histories That Concentrate On The Soviet Union, 'the Oxford Handbook Of The History Of Communism' Is Genuinely Global In Its Coverage, Paying Particular Attention To The Chinese Revolution. Towards A Global History Of Communism / Stephen A. Smith -- Part 1. Ideology. Karl Marx And Friedrich Engels On Communism / Paresh Chattopadhyay -- Lenin And Bolshevism / Lars T. Lih -- Stalin And Stalinism / Kevin Mcdermott -- Mao And Maoism / Timothy Cheek -- Part 2. Global Moments. 1919 / Jean-françois Fayet -- 1936 / Tim Rees -- 1956 / Sergey Radchenko -- 1968 / Maud Anne Bracke -- 1989 / Matthias Middell -- Part 3. Global Communism. The Comintern / Alexander Vatlin And Stephen A. Smith -- Communism In Eastern Europe / Pavel Kolář -- Communism In China, 1900-2010 / Yang Kuisong And Stephen A. Smith -- Communism In South East Asia / Anna Belogurova -- Communism In Latin America / Mike Gonzalez -- Communism In The Islamic World / Anne Alexander -- Communism In Africa / Allison Drew -- Part 4. Communist Polities And Economies. Political And Economic Relations Between Communist States / Balázs Szalontai --^ Averting Armageddon : The Communist Peace Movement, 1948-1956 / Geoffrey Roberts -- The Cult Of Personality And Symbolic Politics / Daniel Leese -- Communist Revolution And Political Terror / Julia C. Strauss -- Popular Opinion Under Communist Regimes / Sheila Fitzpatrick -- Communism And Economic Modernization / Mark Harrison -- Collectivization And Famine / Felix Wemheuer -- The Politics Of Plenty : Consumerism In Communist Societies / Paul Betts -- Part 5. Communism And Social Relations. The Life Of A Communist Militant / Marco Albeltaro -- Rural Life / Jeremy Brown -- Workers Under Communism : Romance And Reality / Tuong Vu -- Communism And Women / Donna Harsch -- Privilege And Inequality In Communist Society / Donald Filtzer -- Nation-making And National Conflict Under Communism / Adrienne Lynn Edgar -- Part 6. Communism And Culture. Cultural Revolution / Richard King -- Communism And The Artistic Intelligentsia / Mark Gamsa -- Popular Culture / Dean Vuletic --^ Religion Under Communism / Richard Madsen -- Sport Under Communism / Robert Edelman, Anke Hilbrenner And Susan Brownell. Edited By Stephen A. Smith. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The impact of Communism on the twentieth century was massive, equal to that of the two world wars. Until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, historians knew relatively little about the secretive world of communist states and parties. Since then, the opening of state, party, and diplomatic archives of the former Eastern Bloc has released a flood of new documentation. The thirty-five essays in this Handbook , written by an international team of scholars, draw on this new material to offer a global history of communism in the twentieth century. In contrast to many histories that concentrate on the Soviet Union, The Oxford Handbook of the History of Communism is genuinely global in its coverage, paying particular attention to the Chinese Revolution. It is 'global', too, in the sense that the essays seek to integrate history 'from above' and 'from below', to trace the complex mediations between state and society, and to explore the social and cultural as well as the political and economic realities that shaped the lives of citizens fated to live under communist rule. The essays reflect on the similarities and differences between communist states in order to situate them in their socio-political and cultural contexts and to capture their changing nature over time. Where appropriate, they also reflect on how the fortunes of international communism were shaped by the wider economic, political, and cultural forces of the capitalist world. The Handbook provides an informative introduction for those new to the field and a comprehensive overview of the current state of scholarship for those seeking to deepen their understanding.