The Left Transformed in Post-Communist Societies: The Cases of East-Central Europe, Russia, and Ukraine - Tapa blanda

This new volume edited by Jane Curry and Joan Urban adds to a growing body of research by offering case studies of the Polish, Hungarian, Lithuanian, East German, Russian, and Ukrainian communist party organizations within a broader social and political context of their respective countries. -- Hubert Tworkecki, Emory University * Perspectives on Politics * This is a very useful collection on an important topic. All of the chapters are of a high scholarly standard. The book deserves to be read not only by specialists on Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS but also by triumphalists and anyone interested in the future of the Left generally. * The Russian Review * The Left Transformed is a coherent, cohesive, and well-written examination of the fates of six former communist parties following the fall of communism. All authors are well-regarded experts in their fields, and the chapters are uniformly well-presented and engaging. In addition to being well-written separate pieces, the chapters as a whole demonstrate a coherence of form and content. This volume is well suited as an introduction to communist successor parties in central and Eastern Europe. It should serve as a valuable reference for specialists in the field and as a useful course text. A substantial contribution to the literature on the left in the lands of the Leninist legacy. * Slavic Review * Curry and Urban's book offers a valuable opportunity to study the former communist parties across a number of cases through an extended period (1989/1991 through 2002). * The Chronicle Herald * The Left Transformed is a rich and detailed analysis that clearly illuminates the persistence and rehabilitation of communist successor parties across diverse settings. It is a very welcome contribution to the debate. -- Anna Grzymala-Busse, Yale University

One of the most unexpected outcomes of the Soviet bloc's transition out of communism is the divergent but important paths followed by once ruling communist parties. In The Left Transformed this ideological split into free market social democrats (Poland, Hungary, and Lithuania), anti-Western neo-Leninists (Russia and Ukraine), and doctrinal fence-sitters (the ex-communists of former East Germany) is explored through in-depth interviews, party presses and primary documents, and national election data. The careful examination of each party's transition as well as the most current information on organization, ideology, and electoral fortunes through late 2002 makes this book an invaluable resource for anyone interested in contemporary history, political parties, or comparative government in the former Soviet Empire.