How important was nationalism as a cause of the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe - Essay Example

? HOW IMPORTANT WAS NATIONALISM AS A CAUSE OF THE COLLAPSE OF COMMUNISM IN EASTERN EUROPE? by University name City, State Introduction The role of nationalism in the collapse of the communist regime in Eastern Europe has been assessed differently by modern historians. A series of researches on the collapse of the Soviet Union, for instance, have asserted that nationalism played a small part in the end of communism. Instead, the ideological failure, economic recession, nomenklatura’s craving for enrichment, burden of competing with the United States in the military sphere, and inability of the bureaucratic institution to function properly are mentioned as the major reasons of the demise of communism (Hough, 1997; Solnick, 1998; Kotkin, 2001). Other works argue that nationalism was a mere outcome of the fall of communism. They assert that communism should not be regarded an important and independent contributing power in the context of communism collapse in the period from the end of the 1980’s to the beginning of 1990’s. Contrary to these views, many scholars recognize the important role of nationalism in communism collapse based on careful examination of the data that describes the Soviet reality at the end of 1980s (Crampton, 1994; Sugar, 1995; Brubaker, 1996; Beissinger, 2002; Beissinger, 2009; Pravda, 2010). This paper argues that nationalism was an important force and the instrument of the communism demise in Eastern Europe. It also explores the effect that nationalism has had on Eastern European countries since the fall of communism. Nationalism: Theoretical Background In this paper, the term nationalism is used in the meaning of political doctrine and ideology which is justified by a goal to make a certain nation succeed in pursuing its interests. In this context, a nation is understood as “a political, ethnic, territorial, cultural, or religious group united by a common economy, mass culture, common legal rights and duties, and a belief system that emphasizes either shared history and genealogy or other common myths distinguishing this group from others” (Smith, 1991: 14). Molchanov (2000: 264) observes that nationalism today is a product of modernization as well as mass education. It is also a product of the elites’ conscious manipulation of country’s masses. Nationalism is based on national feeling, i.e. a feeling of belonging to a community which is culturally distinct and goes beyond people’s circles of important others, covers the barriers of statuses and classes, and on a legitimate basis commands its members’ loyalty. In this respect, a national community is perceived as an imagined community with its contours being reconstructed during the process of national mobilization (Molchanov, 2000: 263). As for the national elite, it serves a mobilizing agent in this process. Its parochial interests get the status of national interests and become values for which all compatriots fight. Typically, the elite is made up of well-educated classes “from the indigenous nationality and local administrators” who have become dissatisfied with current social standing (Molchanov, 2000: 264). Exploring the political agenda of contemporary nationalism, one may state that it necessarily develops in its connection to state (Tibor, 2010: 36). The relationship between nationalism and the state is discussed in two major modes. The first one describes the situation when the representatives of the indigenous nationality already have control over the state. They make efforts to unite people and create their specific nation. It is characterized by a focus on cultural and linguistic homogenization, consolidation of political connections, and creating the feeling of solidarity. The activity of the government results in education standardization and decrease of the social distance which may be found between the society layers (Gellner, 1998). The second mode of nationalism development within the state is when the elites do not possess control over the state. What they influence are the spheres of cultural production as well as group’s overall solidarity. As Tibor describes this mode, “The political objectives in this case are related to the creation of an own sovereign state” (Tibor, 2010: 37). Apart from the relationship between nationalism and the state, one may identify the relationship between nationalism and an individual. Nationalism acts as a powerful changing agent of people’s relations. Namely, it creates a collective identity through promotion of group solidarity. Besides, it blurs the borders between social classes and facilitates equality between various society members (Tibor, 2010). Role of Nationalism in the Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe The Soviet Union was a multi-ethnic society with a high degree of institutionized multinationality (Brubaker, 1996). The impact of nationalism on the fall of communism has taken place in two gradual steps: institutionalization of the nationality in territorial, political, cultural and personal aspects, and the demise of the communist state by this formation. Applied to the Soviet context, the national struggles are understood as struggles of institutionalized national elites and counter-elites (Brubaker, 1996: 25). The context for the struggle between the national elites and counter-elites (in this case, representatives of the communist parties) was favourable. Gorbachev’s attempts to restructure and reform the Soviet society on the one hand brought some freedom through the politics of glasnost and certain steps in democratization. On the other hand, Gorbachev’s program of perestroika was economically unsuccessful and increased tensions in society. According to the historical sources, economic reforms initiated by Gorbachev that meant to reform the economy of the state so that it operated to meet the requirements of the population were not successful. Hence, by 1988 the shortages of goods in the USSR placed his reforms under threat (The Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe, n.d.). In this context, the USSR weakened by the reforms conducted by Gorbachev was unable to continue to exert rigid control over the political processes in its satellite countries: Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Hungary, the German Democratic Republic, Bulgaria, and Romania. Jan Carnogursky, the former Prime Minister of Slovakia and the author of “The Fall of Communism in Czechoslovakia”, observes that the signs of the weakening communist regime were evident a few years before the collapse of communism in the country. Namely, he mentions that the Soviet Union demonstrated a reduced capacity to repress its opponents. Despite the fact that dissidents were still prosecuted in courts, they were given lighter sentences and the police were more reluctant to start criminal proceedings against the opposing minority. The representatives of power were aware of the processes that took place in the world and were reluctant to put their heads on the line for the communist regime that appeared less and less able to compete with other political systems (Carnogursky, 2006: 43). The weakening of the authoritarian communist regime in the USSR allowed for development of a variety of social and nationalist movements in the countries of the communist bloc. Some examples include Poland, the Baltic states, and Ukraine. Specifically, in Poland the social movement called Solidarity emerged back in 1980 – the time when Poland faced economic problems. In essence, Solidarity posed itself as a movement of civil workers, but it may well be called a nationalist one (Tibor, 2010: 53). Solidarity led an open struggle against communism; its aim was to achieve “democracy, truth, legality, human dignity, and the repair of the republic” – just what nationalism fought for (Mason, 1989: 52). The active position of the participants of Solidarity placed Polish communist leaders in an awkward situation. Following the doctrine by Brezhnev, Poland was not to be interfered until it was loyal to the communist regime and kept its membership in the East Bloc. Yet, struggling for the democratic republic, the movement of Solidarity put this at risk. So the authorities would only interfere in critical situations (Zwick, 1983: 135). Even when the martial law was introduced, Poland’s movement did not cease to exist. While somewhat weakened, it still continued to issue the underground stamps with the symbolic that had a nationalist character, and organized a few strikes. The fact that the emblem of Solidarity was related to the pre-war Polish symbols led researchers to recognizing Solidarity “the heir of the sovereign Poland” and the movement which stood up for Polish culture (Evans, 1992: 760). Within the Soviet Union, the nationalist movement acted as an effective instrument and catalyst for national elites that sought to gain power in the situation when Kremlin was considerably weakened by escalating economic difficulties and increasing political divisions (Pravda, 2010: 356). Alex Pravda in “The Collapse of the Soviet Union, 1990-1991” observes that the pressure for sovereignty became evident back in 1989-1990 when “nationalist republics and elites pressed for greater autonomy from the centre” (Pravda, 2010: 356). At that time, the major pressure came from the Baltic republics and the Caucasus. Later, bigger republics, such as Ukraine and Russia, proclaimed independence. In these states, the national elites played the vital role in the quick rise of the organized movement of protest. They managed to mobilize nationalist dissatisfaction and empower themselves for further declaration of sovereignty. For instance, Ukraine and Lithuania were able to effectively organize protests and nationalist mobilization through meeting with Polish leaders of Solidarity and getting aware of the successes of anti-communist movements in Eastern and Central Europe (Pravda, 2010: 364). Effects of Nationalism since Communism Collapse in Eastern Europe After the communist regime fell in the countries of the Eastern Bloc in the late 1980s and was overthrown in the ex-USSR in 1990-1991, the nationalist movements were able to achieve their long-sought goals. Specifically, Germany, which has been divided into two states, got reunified; the Berlin wall fell; former Soviet republics declared their sovereignty, and puppet communist governments were replaced with those elected on a democratic basis (Nelson, 2010). At the same time, unexpected conflicts emerged on the ground of the nationalist rhetoric. After the goals of nationalist establishment were achieved, some states began to use the nationalist slogans to make territorial claims in the areas where overlapping groups of nationalities lived. Ironically, people who had lived within one country under the communist regime, engaged in political strife and violent confrontation. To illustrate, the former Republic of Yugoslavia, Tajikistan, and Georgia faced civil wars. At the same time, Czechoslovakia ceased to exist. It broke into the Czech Republic and Slovakia (Goldman, 1997). Another consequence of the nationalist movements’ success was a deep financial crisis that affected the former Soviet republics because of the collapse of the strong and centralized economic system of Soviet communism. This crisis has not been overcome till the present day. When the state control over prices was no longer applied, national currencies got devaluated, inflation rose, the unemployment persisted, wages reduced, and production costs rose. The new states faced the need of transition of their command economies into market ones. Yet, for many this transition has still not been completed. Some recovery in the economic sector is followed by increasing poverty rates while few countries managed to effect necessary changes for steady growth of their economies (for example, Poland) (Goldman, 1997). On the territory of the former Soviet republic, post-communist nationalism has been observed (Molchanov, 2000). It is mostly about struggling for complete national independence as well as reorientation from poor East to wealthy West. While this nationalism does not typically seek to consolidate the divided nations or make up a new identity for the former members of the Soviet Union, it uses its concerns with ethnicity to solve the issues related to economy, politics, as well as international relations (Molchanov, 2000: 283). Conclusion Overall, nationalism played an important role in the fall of the communist regimes in the East European countries. The nationalist doctrine became the instrument and the catalyst for nationalist elites’ actions and engagement of masses. Owing to national mobilization, the protests were rapidly organized and successes of nationalist movements in other countries followed. Yet, nationalism has not become the leading ideology in the former communist states and was not strong enough to ensure economic stability and on-going economic growth. 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