The West no longer regards communism in East Asia as a threat. On the contrary, because the communist party states of East Asia appear to be undergoing a process of reform directed primarily at economic modernization, it is now regarded as a potential market. The West’s attitude is reinforced by the recognition of East Asia’s economic importance more generally – a perception which in itself undoubtedly stimulated reform in the region’s communist party states. The causes, extent and consequences of reform in the East Asian communist party states are the concerns of the contributions to this volume, first published in 1988. It includes chapters on the reform process in China, North Korea, Vietnam and Mongolia; as well as examinations of the roles played by both China and the Soviet Union in the Asia-Pacific region. They demonstrate that a belief in a simple, single process of economic and political liberalization – brought about by the drive for economic modernization, the production imperative – is a misleading argument. Although the production imperative might act as a stimulus to reform, it is neither a sufficient nor even a necessary condition. In individual countries the communist party’s search for legitimacy, a change of leadership, or the relationship with the USSR have equally been the spur to reform. The drive for economic modernization may even be a consequence of the communist party’s desire to reform rather than a cause. The absence of a uniform pattern does not detract from the potential consequences of economic and political change. These challenge socialist thinking on the nature of collective life, ownership and rural society.

This book, consisting of eight related articles, deals with several dimensions of socialism in the 1980s just before the beginning of the great changes which took place in Eastern Europe. Profound changes in the political economy of the world in the 1970s led to a decline of over-confidence and over-optimism characteristic of the earlier times both in the West and in the East. The painful experience of stagnation ended the grand Keynesian dream and led to the return of neo-conservatism in the West. The disappointing pace of industrial and technological progress during the Brezhnev era and increasing shortages of productivity of communism in the East. With both sides in the grip of political and economic uncertainties, the ideological confrontation seemed to have lost much of its sharp edge. No longer did the accepted dogmas and ideologies of the past appear either valid or convincing. The presupposition of the debate on comparative economic systems were in need of fundamental revisions. It was in this perspective that the Political Economy Workshop at York University undertook to feature a series of lectures on socialism in its 1988 sessions. Of about a dozen presentations by York University scholars and invited speakers, eight were subsequently made available in the form of articles and are published in this volume. These articles cover a wide range of issues, both theoretical and practical, and from both the Western and the Eastern perspective. It is recognized by all authors that neither the East European experiments in communism nor the Western process into social democracy have been a great success. The clue to what might lie beyond the socialist dilemmas in the age of perestroika will be found only by going through once again to the circumstances which led to the failure of socialism thus far.

This book is originated from the 1985 Rome conference on "Soviet-East European Relations: Implications for the West," which explored the elements of continuity and change, especially the trends in intra-Warsaw Pact relations. It contains revised versions of the papers presented at the conference.

The year 1989 marked a turning point in world history, a watershed year of unprecedented drama and political significance. No matter how one looks at those events–as the fall of communism, the democratization of Eastern Europe, or the end of the cold war–it is important to understand how the world travelled the distance of time, space, and ideology to arrive at the Berlin Wall and tear it down. David Mason provides that understanding in a concise synthesis of history, politics, economics, sociology, literature, philosophy, and popular, as well as traditional, culture. He shows how all these elements combined to yield the year that effectively closed the twentieth century–and promised to launch the new century on a hopeful note. Starting with Poland's elections in June 1989, the countries of then-communist Eastern Europe one by one revolutionized their governments and their polities; Hungary opened its borders to the West, East Germany rushed through, Czechoslovakia elected Vaclav Havel president, Bulgaria changed both party and leadership, and Romania executed Ceausescu. Although Gorbachev enabled many of these changes, he did not cause them. The illumination of the complex symbiosis between dynamics in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union is one of the greatest contributions this book makes. With undercurrents emphasizing the power of ideas, the spirit of youth, and the multifaceted force of culture and ethnicity, Mason takes the reader far beyond the events of change and into their impetus and outcomes. He applies theories of social movements, democratization, and economic transition with an even hand, showing the interaction of their effects not only regionally but worldwide. The concluding chapter puts the revolutions in Eastern Europe into international perspective and highlights their impact on East-West relations, security alliances, and economic integration. Mason discusses the European Community, the United States and the Soviet Union, and the Third World in relation to the new East-Central European configuration. Using delightful and provocative cartoons from Eastern European and Soviet presses, interesting photos, valuable tables of data, and illuminating figures, Mason emphasizes important points about the role of nationalism, ethnicity, public opinion, and harsh economic reality in the revolutionary process.

This volume deals with the nature of the relationship between the countries of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union and those of the Third World, offering some background to the decline in the Soviet Union's international position, both politically and economically.

Corporate governance is an area of key importance for students of comparative management and international business. This is particularly relevant in analyses of the post-socialist economies of the East, where both governments and enterprises have undergone major structural transformation. This title was first published in 1994, following the Centre for Organisational Studies’ (COS) third Round Table, which discussed East-West business collaboration in relation to the management of organizations. As a result, the edited collection is designed to provide guidance for managers, in the East and West, to the kind of governance issues they might face when working together in the post-Soviet business world. Utilizing a series of case studies, the chapters represent a genuine dialogue between managers, consultants and academics who have worked on both sides of the former ideological divide.

This book examines the history of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance and attempts to assess the probable future of economic integration of the CMEA. The author pursues three main themes in analyzing the sluggish pace of East European integration on trade during the last thirty years, the role of East-West relations in the integration process, and the future of integration in the 1980s.