No description available.

This dissertation of limited scope traces the attempts by Gorbachev (1985-1991) to reform an economic, political and social system which was in a state of terminal decline. The origins of its demise, it is argued, lay in the ossified command economy inherited from Stalin. The enormous damage inflicted on Soviet agriculture during collectivisation in the 1930s~ when millions of productive peasants died, proved to be a fatal blow to that sector. Tlms, Gorbachev followed a two-fold strategy ofrefonn. Glasnost (openness) was introduced to allow constructive debate on economic and social matters. Despite a hesitant beginning, the right to criticise allowed the emergence of more radical campaigners, such as Yeltsin who demanded greater democracy. Significantly, the revival of ethnic nationalist demands in the republics led to disintegration. Perestroika (restructuring) was intended to modernise and boost living standards. The economy faltered but the market was not yet in place / History / M.A. (History)

Thesis (M.A.)--University of South Africa, 2002.

人類歷史上有著許多偉大的政治體制改革者。中國與俄國千年來，皆是帝王專制的政治體制，直到二十世紀初葉，兩國的帝王專制體制先後被推翻，蘇聯邁向共黨一黨專政的蘇維埃政治體制；中國則因連年戰亂，中華民國政府來台初期亦採取威權統治，直到八零年代蔣經國主政，全力推動政治體制改革，同一時間蘇聯亦在戈巴契夫的主政下，推動政治體制改革。而戈巴契夫與蔣經國兩人對當代兩國政治發展亦影響深遠。本文的研究重點在於探討蔣經國與戈巴契夫兩人在政治體制改革過程中，台蘇的政治體制；改革環境；以及改革者，戈巴契夫與蔣經國二人的人格特質、政治理念與改革實踐的比較。 / Look backward at the human history, there were many political institution reformers. In China and Russia, the regime had been always authoritarianism and controlled by emperors till the start of twentieth century. Both of the authoritarian regimes in these two countries were overthrown one after another. Russia went toward the road of Soviet institution; China (ROC) also adopted authoritarian regime since the successive insurrection in the initial years. This kind of regime did not end until the 1980s due to the political reform Chang Chin-Gwo initiated . At the same time, under the leadership of Gorbachev, the political institution reform has been started. This thesis puts emphasis on the comparison of the political institution reform of Chiang and Gorbachev in terms of political environments, characters of the leaders, political values, and the practices of the reforms.

This thesis focuses on the developments in the Soviet top-elite dynamics from 1981 to 1991. It claims that a careful examination of particular characteristics of the Soviet nomenklatura as a form of top-elite can give us important hints on how the intra-nomenklatura tensions that had been accumulating since its inception aggravated in the last decade of the USSR and contributed substantially to the Union&rsquo / s drive to the end. Hence, the main argument of this thesis is that when the Soviet top-elite lost its confidence on the elite-preserving capacity of Gorbachev, it started searching for alternatives, one of the most notable of which was the market economy option advocated by Boris Yeltsin at that time. This shift in the preferences of the Soviet nomenklatura played a considerable role in the dissolution process.

This dissertation of limited scope traces the attempts by Gorbachev (1985-1991) to reform an economic, political and social system which was in a state of terminal decline. The origins of its demise, it is argued, lay in the ossified command economy inherited from Stalin. The enormous damage inflicted on Soviet agriculture during collectivisation in the 1930s~ when millions of productive peasants died, proved to be a fatal blow to that sector. Tlms, Gorbachev followed a two-fold strategy ofrefonn. Glasnost (openness) was introduced to allow constructive debate on economic and social matters. Despite a hesitant beginning, the right to criticise allowed the emergence of more radical campaigners, such as Yeltsin who demanded greater democracy. Significantly, the revival of ethnic nationalist demands in the republics led to disintegration. Perestroika (restructuring) was intended to modernise and boost living standards. The economy faltered but the market was not yet in place / History / M.A. (History)

This dissertation deals with the concepts glasnost and perestroika during the Gorbachev era 1985–1991. It offers an explanation to the rise and fall of these concepts and casts light on their modern and postmodern implications, as well as their historical and generational preconditions. In light of the Soviet and Russian conceptual history, Gorbachev’s articulation of glasnost and perestroika is contrasted with the reception of these concepts in what at that time came to be called Russian postmodernism. Glasnost and perestroika both confirm and transcend Soviet modernity. They are both future-oriented but at the same time possess retrospective anchorage. The present study reconstructs the experience encapsulated in the concepts, the expectations they unleashed and the tensions they triggered. The Gorbachev era signaled a rupture in the temporal order of modernity. During this time Soviet modernity lost confidence in its self. With glasnost and perestroika a suppressed past opened up which blocked the futurist potential inherent in the present. The concept-theoretical perspective assumed in the dissertation helps explain essential aspects of the dramatic turn of events. Postmodernism’s relationship to the concepts is mainly antagonistic. At the same time glasnost and perestroika were essential to the self-identity creating process of postmodernism and its development of an understanding of a specific late Soviet postmodern situation. Beneath the surface a conflict evolves, constituted in intergenerational terms. The vast differences in deployment of the two key notions appear related to generation specific historical experiences. This is apparent in the glasnost- and perestroika discussions of the 19th and 20th centuries. In several respects the 20th century discourse reflects that of the 19th century. The analysis in the present dissertation demonstrates how Gorbachev, on the basis of his generation-specific experience as a man of the 1960s actively sought to articulate an alternative reconstruction (perestroika) and did so with a distinct ideological accent. The postmodernists, the last Soviet generation, bore the imprint of the stagnation of the Brezhnev era and had no ideal past to resuscitate. Instead of reconstructing social reality they tried to place themselves outside it. This apolitical stance however embodied both anti-political and political implications.

The diploma thesis "Strategic Defense Initiative" deals with the issue of the Strategic initiative on the basis of historical-political analysis. The SDI was a crucial topic during the 80s, which had political impacts on the development of the international events and the Cold war in general. This work presents brief history of the United States ABM systems and introduced historical context. Furthermore, the author analyzes possible reasons for the SDI announcement and reexamines Reagan's speech from March 1983. Persons and interest groups who were promoting strategic defense are also included in this analysis. Problems connected to the SDI and its brief description are also mentioned. The following chapter deals with Soviet reaction to the SDI. The seventh chapter dicusses the European reaction to the SDI. The topic is analyzed on the example of United Kingdom. Next chapter deals with the Anti Ballistic Missile treaty and its interpretations from the SDI prespective. Last chapter discusses US - Soviet summits which took place in the 80s with emphasis on the SDI.

No description available.

No description available.