Wilson Center Experts
Thomas Harold Rigby
Short-Term Grant
Kennan Institute
Expertise:
Russia and Eurasia
Affiliation:
Professor, Australian National University
Wilson Center Project(s):
Perestroika and the Transformation of Mono-Organizational Socialism
Term:
May 01, 1989
Jun 01, 1989
Project Summary
Defines the basic characteristics of the socialist system between 1917 and 1930, noting the concentration of power to direct the whole of social life within the political executive, the command hierarchy and monopoly of legitimate social activity, the control of the Communist Party, and the marginalized status of legitimate market mechanisms. Addresses whether the changes under way in the late 80s pointed to a fundamental break with the mono-organizational socio-poiltical order.
Previous Terms at the Wilson Center:
January - February 1978 - Title VIII Short Term Scholar: "Cliques and Patronage in Soviet Politics": Looks at informal alignments based on interpersonal commitments within the Soviet governmental, party and politico-administrative organizations. Systematically evaludes their role and significance in the Soviet political system. Takes a historical and comparative/theoretical perspective, suggesting different types of clique and patronage that find prominence at different periods.