Supporting the Revolution: America, Democracy, and the End of the Cold War in Poland, 1981-1989. ACES Working Paper (Report) No. 8, 2007

Early on the morning of December 13, 1981, General Wojciech Jaruzelski, the leader of the communist Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR), declared martial law, ending the so-called "Polish Crisis," which began with the creation of the Independent Free Trade Union "Solidamosc" in August 1980. Over the next eight years, the Communist government and the opposition struggled over power, culminating in 1989 with the creation of a Solidamosc-led government which ended fifty years of Communist rule in Poland and led the way to further democratic revolutions throughout Eastern Europe. The purpose of this dissertation is to utilize newly available and underutilized archival sources as well as oral history interviews, from both international and American perspectives, to fully chronicle American policy toward Poland from the declaration of martial law until the creation of the Solidarnosc government. Rather than explaining Polish-American relations in bilateral terms, the dissertation illuminates the complex web of influences that determined American policy in Washington and affected its implementation within Poland. This includes descriptions of internal tensions within the Reagan administration, differences between American decisions in Washington and implementation in Warsaw, lobbying from Polish-American groups, clashes between Capitol Hill and the White House, coordination with American labor organizations to support Solidarnosc, disagreements with West European allies in NATO and international financial organizations, cooperation with the Vatican and the Polish Catholic Church, synchronization with American humanitarian organizations working in Poland, limitations caused by the realities of Soviet power in Eastern Europe, and complications caused by domestic Polish concerns. By taking a broad view of American policy and highlighting internal Polish decisions, with both the Communist government and the democratic opposition, the dissertation provides concrete examples of America's role in Poland's transformation, arguing, however, that this role was very limited. These conclusions are relevant to arguments about the end of the Cold War, the nature of American power, as well as current discussions about possibilities to promote democracy within hostile regimes.

Patterns of civil society after authoritarianism: a comparison of Portugal and Spain, 1970s-2000s. CES Papers - Open Forum #17, 2013-2014

In this paper we argue that patterns of civil society in post-authoritarian democracies are the result of divergent pathways to democracy. Through a comparison of contemporary Portugal (social revolution) and Spain (reform), we show that revolutionary pathways to democracy have a positive impact on the self-organizing abilities of popular groups, thus also contributing to a higher quality of democracy. There are three mechanisms in social revolutionary processes that contribute to this. The first stems from the fact that the masses are the key actor in the revolutionary transformation process, with the power to shape (at least partially) the new rules and institutions of the emerging democratic regime. This results in greater legal recognition and institutional embeddedness between civil society organizations and the state, making it easier, in turn, for resources to be transferred to those organizations. Secondly, as a result of changes to the social and economic structure, revolutions engender more egalitarian societies. Likewise, citizens are given more resources and capacities for collective action. Finally, revolutions tend to crystalize a political culture between elites and the masses in which the principles of egalitarian participation and social change through the action of the people are accepted. This all leads to greater opportunities, resources and legitimacy for the civic action of the common people during the subsequent democratic regime.

Shall Tunisia Succeed in Becoming a Strong Democratic State? EUSpring Arab Citizenship Review No. 13, December 2015

From the Introduction. Arab revolutions have sparked real hopes for democracy, but the situation varies from one state to another and change has taken various directions, with unpredictable outcomes in the future. In light of current events, most of these countries seem to have failed in their democratic transition and also face the dissolution of their state apparatus in bloody civil wars. This leaves the door open to interpretations associating democracy with chaos. In this view, preserving post-colonial states – authoritarian in most cases – is better than having no state at all. This partially justified the coup that took place in Egypt, where the ‘Deep State’ has recovered its capabilities in a dictatorial manner. The Arab world thus faced an impasse: the state is either stable but authoritarian or democratic yet threatened with dissolution. The dilemma results in an impossible choice between stable dictatorship or freedom ending in chaos.

Communist interference in El Salvador : documents demonstrating Communist support of the Salvadoran insurgency.

"February 23, 1981."

Geschichte der Revolutionen von niederla ndischen Aufstand bis zum Vorabend der franzosi schen Revolution.

Mode of access: Internet.

Against revolution,

Mode of access: Internet.

The Countess from Iowa,

English edition (London, Hutchinson & co.) has title: Romance and revolutions.

Can these things be!

"Second Printing."

Paris révolutionnaire.

"Suite d'études sur diverses révolutions parisiennes, anciennes et modernes, signées par: Cavaignac, Arago, Fontan, Rapail, H. Martin, Hauréau, Pyat, Dufey de l'Yonne, etc." -- Dealer's cat. (A. Margraff. number 148).

Gustav Struve's Weltgeschichte, in neun büchern..

buch 1-3. Alte geschichte. Vom anfang der geschichte bis 476 nach Christus.--buch 4-6. Geschichte des mittelalters. Vom jahre 476 bis 517.--buch 7-08. Geschichte der neu-zeit. Vom anbeginn der reformation bis 1789.--buch 9. Revolutions-zeitalter. Vom jahre 1789-1848.

Berliner Revolutionschronik : Darstellung der Berliner Bewegung im Jahre 1848 in politischer, sozialer und litterarischer Beziehung /

Mode of access: Internet.

Oslabnuvshīĭ fetish; psikhologicheskīi︠a︡ osnovy Russkoĭ revoli︠ut︡︠s︡īi.

Mode of access: Internet.

Revolution and cold war.

Mode of access: Internet.

Delle historie memorabili, che contiene le sollevationi di stato de nostri tempi /

Includes index.

Terrorismo e comunismo.

Mode of access: Internet.