The Defeat of Solidarity : Anger and Politics in Postcommunist Europe / David Ost.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ost, David, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Democratization--Europe, Eastern.

Democratization.

Post-communism--Europe, Eastern.

Post-communism.

Europe, Eastern--Politics and government--1989-.

Europe, Eastern.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (ix, 238 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Anger and politics in postcommunist Europe

Place of Publication:

Ithaca, NY : Cornell University Press, [2018]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

How did the fall of communism and the subsequent transition to capitalism in Eastern Europe affect the people who experienced it? And how did their anger affect the quality of the democratic systems that have emerged? Poland offers a particularly provocative case, for it was here where workers most famously seemed to have won, thanks to the role of the Solidarity trade union. And yet, within a few short years, they had clearly lost. An oppressive communist regime gave way to a capitalist society that embraced economic and political inequality, leaving many workers frustrated and angry. Their leaders first ignored them, then began to fear them, and finally tried to marginalize them. In turn, workers rejected their liberal leaders, opening the way for right-wing nationalists to take control of Solidarity. Ost tells a fascinating story about the evolution of post-communist society in Eastern Europe. Informed by years of fieldwork in Polish factory towns, scores of interviews with workers, labor activists, and politicians, and an exhaustive reading of primary sources, his new book gives voice to those who have not been heard. But even more, Ost proposes a novel theory about the role of anger in politics to show why such voices matter, and how they profoundly affect political outcomes. Drawing on Poland's experiences, Ost describes lessons relevant to democratization throughout Eastern Europe and to democratic theory in general.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Democracy and the Organization of Anger

2. Solidarity Against Itself

3. Market Populism and the Turn to the Right

4. How Liberals Lost Labor

5. Communist and Post-communist Experiences of Class

6. Labor at Work: Unions in the Workplace

7. Conclusion: Class, Civil Society, and the Future of Post-communist Democracy

Notes

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 20. Sep 2019)

ISBN:

9781501729270

1501729276

9780801473432

0801473438

OCLC:

1080550824