Synopsis

"Communist Regimes in Comparative Perspective" adopts a comparative developmental approach in tracing the evolution of the Soviet, Chinese and Yugoslav regimes from their respective revolutions to the present day. While taking account of the importance of specific national conditions, Peter Ferdinand also identifies common phases in the development of the three systems - post-revolutionary national reconciliation, the "socialist" transformation of the means of production, the growing divergence of national paths to socialism and the current mounting pressures for reconstruction and democratization. Throughout, emphasis is placed on economic and social policies as well as political institutions and processes. The book illustrates these phases by referring to a range of topics, including the origins of the regimes and the common factors in their revolutions, the roles of the ruling parties, the evolution of strategies and institutions for macro-economic management and the problems of centre-periphery relations and ethnic integration. In concluding its analysis, the book compares recent popular pressures for change with the official responses of "restructuring".