Coercion, Corruption, and Reform

State and Society in the Soviet-Type Socialist Regime

Bibliographic Data

ID6298546
AuthorsAntoni Z Kaminski (0000-0001-8772-3794, corresponding author)
Year1989
Volume1
Issue1
Pages77-102
Publication date1989-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Theoretical Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0951-6298 • E-ISSN: 1460-3667
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0951692889001001006
OpenAlexW1974550954
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited7

This paper offers an institutional and evolutionary interpretation of the Soviet-type state. Coercion, corruption and reform are treated as three distinct principles organizing the system of rule and the developmental potential of the state. The strong reliance on coercion characteristic of Stalin's period gave way to the corruption of the society by the elites, and vice versa. This mutual adjustment between the ruling classes and the society is one of the reasons for the declining efficiency of the Soviet-type regimes, particularly in the economic domain. The solution to this is the market reform and political changes that are necessary to make it work. The reform problem is examined from two perspectives: (1) the Soviet world system; (2) internal factors that help or block the reform efforts. The general theoretical analysis is illustrated with a discussion of the Hungarian, Polish and Czechoslovak cases

Coercion (linguistics · Economic system · Economics · Interpretation (philosophy · Language change · Political economy · Political science · Politics · State (computer science · Law · Post-Communist Economic and Political Transition · Russia and Soviet political economy

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