Internationalism and the Ideology of Soviet Influence in Eastern Europe

by Jonathan C. Valdez

Overview

Jonathan Valdez explores the role of ideology in the maintenance and subsequent collapse of Soviet influence in Eastern Europe. He looks at how Marxism-Leninism was used to legitimize Soviet influence in Eastern Europe, to rationalize policy decisions, to communicate Soviet intent and policy desires to East European elites, and to explain change in socialist systems. The author argues that the use of the fundamental principles of Marxism-Leninism to perform various functions ultimately brought about a change in the basic assumptions of the theory itself.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521414388
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	04/29/1993
Series:	Cambridge Russian, Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies , #89
Pages:	230
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.67(d)

Table of Contents

Introduction: the problem of ideology; 1. Ideology and the ideologists; 2. The ideological basis; 3. Contradictions and internationalism in the 1970s: the Eurocommunist challenge; 4. Socialist internationalism, 1980–9: decline of a concept; 5. Socialism redefined; 6. Ideological debates and Eastern Europe.