The Rise and Demise of World Communism
The rise and demise of world communism was one of the great dramas of the 20th century, born in wars (World War I, World II), offering an alternative modernity to that of the capitalist world, and ultimately succumbing to the pressures of Cold War, capitalist globalization, and popular disaffection. The result was either systemic collapse (the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe) or a fundamental alteration of key features of the communist system (China, Vietnam, Laos). Beyond that, a few hangers-on remain: North Korea and Cuba, while many non-ruling communist parties have transformed themselves in either a more-radical or more social-democratic direction.
In this course, we will trace communism’s origins in Marxism and Leninism, its victory in the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, its construction of an international sub-system (the “world communist movement”), its spread throughout Europe and Asia (plus Cuba), and its ultimate demise or alteration.
What did communist revolutions, states, and non-ruling communist parties have in common, in both their domestic and international orientations? How did they differ from each other? Why did international communism fracture into competing models of domestic and foreign relations? Why did the Soviet Union and, with it, the world communist system ultimately collapse? How, in retrospect, should we evaluate the century-long experience of communism? And are any of the five communist countries that remain to this day — China, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, and Cuba — likely to follow European communism into oblivion?
Faculty Bio
George Breslauer is Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, Emeritus, UC Berkeley. He has published seven books on the Soviet Union and other communist states, most recently The Rise and Demise of World Communism (Oxford University Press, 2021). He has received awards for his teaching and is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
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Member Praise for "World Communism"
This class was such an excellent exploration of the growth and maturation of communist movements worldwide, that I don’t quite know where to begin with my praise and appreciation. But let me start with a very big and sincere thank you to Professor Breslauer for providing this course to OLLI members. Each lecture was laced with such interesting and provocative elements of political experiments.
Professor Breslauer's concise and clear slides were well organized to facilitate self-study and review. His profound understanding of the subject matter combined with skillful presentation made sense of a complicated history that is still evolving, and allowed me to look at current events with new understanding.
The highlights of each session were without doubt the Q&A when he responded to a wide variety of queries with well considered, nuanced and insightful wisdom that further illuminated the subject.
Faculty Q&A
- Read an interview with George Breslauer from our archive.