THE STATE, CIVIL SOCIETY AND THE COLLAPSE OF SOVIET COMMUNISM

The dissolution of Soviet power in Eastern Europe and the demolition of the Communist Party's monopoly of power in the Soviet Union have created an unprecedented political situation. Conventional political theory East and West offers no guide to this situation, nor does the thinking of the East European opposition movements prior to 1989. In particular the thesis that ‘civil society’ offers the basis for a new democratic politics is challenged; however powerful the idea of civil society as opposed to the authoritarian state may have been as a focus for resistence to Communist regimes it cannot be sustained in the new conditions. The paper further examines the reasons for the collapse of Soviet power and the likely prospects and rationales for the survival of the central government in the Soviet Union. © 1991, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.