The rise and demise of world communism Breslauer, George W. creator author. text bibliography Electronic books. History nyu 2021 2021 monographic eng remote 1 online resource (ix, 345 pages). "Sixteen states came to be ruled by communist parties during the 20th century. Only five of them remain in power today. This book explores the nature of communist regimes-what they share in common, how they differed from each other, and how they differentially evolved over time. It finds that these regimes all came to power in the context of warfare or its aftermath, followed by the consolidation of power by a revolutionary elite that came to value "revolutionary violence" as the preferred means to an end, based upon Marx's vision of apocalyptic revolution and Lenin's conception of party organization. All these regimes went on to "build socialism" according to a Stalinist template, and were initially dedicated to "anti-imperialist struggle" as members of a "world communist movement." But their common features gave way to diversity, difference and defiance after the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953. For many reasons, and in many ways, those differences soon blew apart the world communist movement. They eventually led to the collapse of European communism. The remains of communism in China, Vietnam, Laos, North Korea, and Cuba were made possible by the first three transforming their economic systems, opening to the capitalist international order, and abandoning "anti-imperialist struggle." North Korea and Cuba have hung on due to the elites avoiding splits visible to the public. Analytically, the book explores, throughout, the interaction among the internal features of communist regimes (ideology and organization), the interactions among them within the world communist movement, and the interaction of communist states with the broader international order of capitalist powers"-- What did communist regimes have in common? -- How did communist regimes differ from each other? -- The world communist movement : from Moscow-centric to pluralistic -- Marxism : the vision -- Leninism : the instrument -- The Bolshevik seizure of power -- Consolidating Bolshevik power -- Respite -- Building socialism : Stalin's revolution from above -- The Great Terror and Stalinist despotism -- Was Stalinism a logical continuation of Marxism, Leninism, or neither? -- Was Stalin's revolution from above a rational strategy of modernization? -- Stalinism and world communism in the 1930s -- The impact of World War II on the Soviet Union and world communism -- The creation of East European communist states -- Origins and entrenchment of the Cold War, 1945-1953 -- World War II and the creation of Asian communist states : the People's Republic of China -- Consolidating power and building socialism in China -- Communist parties come to power in Korea and Vietnam -- What follows Stalinism in the USSR? -- Diversity and defiance within the world communist movement -- "Building communism" : competition for ideological "correctness" within the world communist movement -- The Sino-Soviet schism, 1957-1963 -- Cuba's indigenous revolution, 1959-70 -- The Soviet Union after Khrushchev : bureaucratic Leninism -- Alternatives to utopia in China, 1960-1965 -- The great proletarian Cultural Revolution, 1966-1969 -- Maoism : an accounting -- The collapse of the world communist movement and the rise of detente -- Why US-Soviet détente failed -- The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, December 1979 -- Varieties of opposition to the Soviet model in Eastern Europe, 1968-1985 -- Gorbachev's peaceful revolution from above -- Gorbachev and the abandonment of anti-imperialist struggle -- From Maoism to market Leninism : the Chinese economic miracle after Mao -- China in a post-communist world : can Leninism survive market Leninism? -- Market Leninism in Vietnam -- Market Leninism in Laos -- Bureaucratic Leninism in Cuba -- Stalinism in North Korea -- Why the drive to difference? -- Assessing the communist experience : achievement or tragedy? -- Is there a future for new communist states? George W. Breslauer. Includes bibliographical references and index. e-ur--- ee----- Communism History 20th century Communist countries Politics and government POLITICAL SCIENCE Communism Political Ideologies Comparative Politics Communism Politics and government Communist countries 1900-1999 fast HX40 .B685 2021 320.53/2 Rise and demise of world communism Breslauer, George W. New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2021] (DLC) 2021015034 9780197579701 0197579701 0197579698 9780197579688 019757968X 9780197579695 9780197579671 2021015035 http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=https://academic.oup.com/book/40007 DLC 210515 20260319184325.0 in00005720554 eng