The Rise and Fall of West European Communism 1939–48

Bibliographic Data

ID12268992
AuthorsDonald Sassoon (corresponding author)
Year1992
Volume1
Issue2
Pages139-169
Publication date1992-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueContemporary European History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0960-7773 • E-ISSN: 1469-2171
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0960777300004410
OpenAlexW2079526042
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited13

The First World War had engendered in 1917 the first communist state and, following this, in 1919, an international communist movement. With the exception of the People's Republic of Mongolia no new communist states emerged between the wars. The Second World War provided European communism with a second chance to establish itself as a significant political force. In its aftermath the Soviet model was extended to much of the eastern part of Europe while, in the West, communism reached, in 1945–6, the zenith of its influence and power. When the dust had settled, Europe, and with it socialism, had become effectively divided. In Eastern, and in parts of Central Europe a form of socialist society was created, only to be bitterly denounced by the (social-democratic) majority of the Western labour movement. It lasted until 1989–90, when, as each of these socialist states collapsed under the weight of internal dissent following the revocation of Soviet control, it became apparent that no novel socialist phoenix would arise from the ashes of over forty years of authoritarian left-wing rule – at least for the foreseeable future

Authoritarianism · Communism · Communist state · Democracy · Dissent · Economic history · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Socialism · Sociology · State (computer science · European history and politics · History · Italian Fascism and Post-war Society · Law · Soviet and Russian History

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub