Postcommunism Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

Postcommunism has at least two meanings; according to Richard Sakwa, the narrower one refers to the situation in countries formerly under socialist or communist rule, while the broader one can be a shorthand term for metanarratives of the world beyond the cold war. In its narrower, more common meaning, the term captures the unique period in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union between what is known as the fall of communism and a still uncertain horizon in the future when all major idiosyncrasies of communism disappear. In this meaning, the reference context for all postcommunist regimes is the structure and mechanisms of communism itself.

Characterizing the period of postcommunism are multiple transformations (e.g., political, economic, social, etc.), including the processes of building the market economy and democratic institutions—the scope and pace of which differ from one country to another. In some countries, there are also practices of decommunization, like disqualification of former Communist Party members from some positions in the public life.

Many lingering legacies of communism have affected the whole postcommunist period—such as undeveloped civil society, weak rule of law, persistence of communist elites, and environmental problems. Although the transition from communism was largely peaceful, in some parts of the postcommunist region (e.g., the Balkans and some post-Soviet republics) violent ethnic conflicts occurred in the 1990s, followed by socalled colored revolutions in the 2000s.

Bibliography:

Sakwa, Richard. Postcommunism. Philadelphia: Open University Press,1999.

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