Why communism did not collapse : understanding authoritarian regime resilience in Asia and Europe

This volume brings together a distinguished group of scholars working to address the puzzling durability of communist autocracies in Eastern Europe and Asia, which are the longest-lasting type of nondemocratic regime to emerge after World War I. The volume conceptualizes the communist universe as consisting of the ten regimes in Eastern Europe and Mongolia that eventually collapsed in 1989-91, and the five regimes that survived the fall of the Berlin Wall: China, Vietnam, Laos, North Korea, and Cuba. Taken together, the essays offer a theoretical argument that emphasizes the importance of institutional adaptations as a foundation of communist resilience. In particular, the contributors focus on four adaptations: of the economy, of ideology, of the mechanisms for inclusion of potential rivals, and of the institutions of vertical and horizontal accountability. The volume argues that when regimes are no longer able to implement adaptive change, contingent leadership choices and contagion dynamics make collapse more likely. By conducting systematic paired comparisons of the European and Asian cases and by developing arguments that encompass both collapse and resilience, the volume offers a new methodological approach for studying communist autocracies. Tables And Figures -- List Of Contributors -- Acknowledgements -- Abbreviations -- Reform And Resilience -- Understanding Communist Collapse And Resilience / Martin K. Dimitrov -- Resilience And Collapse In China And The Soviet Union / Thomas Bernstein -- Ideology And Resilience -- Ideological Erosion And The Breakdown Of Communist Regimes / Vladimir Tismaneanu -- Ideological Introversion And Regime Survival : North Korea's Our-style Socialism / Charles Armstrong -- Contagion And Resilience -- Bringing Down Dictators : Waves Of Democratic Change In Communist And Postcommunist Europe And Eurasia / Valerie J. Bunce And Sharon L. Wolchik -- The Dynamics Of Contagion In The Soviet Bloc And The Impact On Regime Survival / Mark Kramer -- Inclusion And Resilience -- Authoritarian Survival, Resilience, And The Selectorate Theory / Mary Gallagher And Jonathan Hanson -- Cause Or Consequence? : Private-sector Development And Communist Resilience In China / Kellee S. Tsai -- Accountability And Resilience -- Vietnam Through Chinese Eyes : Divergent Accountability In Single-party Regimes / Regina Abrami, Edmund Malesky, And Yu Zheng -- Vertical Accountability In Communist Regimes: The Role Of Citizen Complaints In Bulgaria And China / Martin K. Dimitrov -- Conclusion : Whither Communist Regime Resilience / Martin K. Dimitrov. Edited By Martin K. Dimitrov, Tulane University. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 313-361) And Index. This volume provides an explanation for the surprising resilience of communist autocracies, including the ten regimes that ultimately collapsed in 1989-91 (the Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Yugoslavia and Mongolia) and the five regimes that persist under communist rule to this day (China, Vietnam, Laos, North Korea and Cuba). This publication addresses the durability of communist autocracies in Eastern Europe and Asia, the longest-lasting type of nondemocratic regime to emerge after World War I