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Introduction: state structures, political processes, and collective choice in CMEA states

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2009

Ellen Comisso
Affiliation:
Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of California, San Diego.
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Abstract

The similarity of state structures throughout Eastern Europe helps to explain why the reactions of states in that area to the international economic disturbances of the past decade resemble each other and why they differ from those of states outside the socialist bloc. Similar state structures, however, do not explain why the economic strategies of the East European states themselves in response to international economic shocks in the 1970s and 1980s diverged so noticeably. The role of state structure is to define “kto/kovo” (who can do what to whom) relationships in the state and economy. In this way state structures define problems that political leaders must solve, possibilities among which they may choose, and political resources and allies upon which they may draw in the course of their decision making. In contrast, strategy choices–“what is to be done”–are the outcomes of political processes in which leaders mobilize resources and allies to capture positions of power from which they can pursue the purposes they advocate. Thus differences in foreign economic strategies among member states in the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance reflected differences in the dynamic interaction of the form and content of political processes that occurred within common state structures.

Type
1. Comparing Responses to International Disturbances
Copyright
Copyright © The IO Foundation 1986

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References

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11. James March and Herbert Simon make this distinction: “Politics is a process in which the situation is the same as in bargaining—there is intergroup conflict of interest—but the arena of bargaining is not taken as fixed by participants.” See March, and Simon, , Organizations (New York: Wiley & Sons, 1958), p. 130Google Scholar.

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13. See Kornai, , Shortages, vol. 1Google Scholar.

14. See Rice, Condolezza, “Defense Burden Sharing,” in Holloway, David and Sharp, Jane, eds., The Warsaw Pact: Alliance in Transition? (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1984), pp. 5987CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

15. See Comisso, Ellen, “Soviet-East European Relations: Unconventional Gains from Trade or a Positive-Sum Power Game?” (Paper presented to the Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley, 6 12 1984)Google Scholar.

16. For example, the former Yugoslav ambassador to Moscow reports a 1957 meeting: “After the Polish ambassador arrived… Khrushchev became much more reserved. He no longer mentioned political problems. He didn't criticize the Poles, even once, a sure sign of coldness and distance in their relation.” Mićunović, Veljko, Journées de moscou, 1956–1958 (Paris: Laffont, 1977), p. 234Google Scholar (my translation). More recently, neither Czechoslovakia nor Hungary has responded to Soviet requests to increase defense expenditures. See Rice, , “Defense,” pp. 6164Google Scholar.

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18. Certainly, a Leninist party is not an element of “structure” the way the state and economy are. Whereas any individual residing in a territory is “necessarily” a part of the state insofar as she or he is a citizen, and anyone residing in the territory “necessarily” participates in the economy (even if only to consume goods), the party is a voluntary association and has no direct authority over anyone who is not a party member. Nevertheless, insofar as neither the state nor the economy could operate without the party, it should stand as an element of structure in its own right.

19. The best work on the role of the party as a “check” on the implementation of policy by the state administration remains Hough's, Jerry F.The Soviet Prefects (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1966)Google Scholar.

20. March, and Simon, , Organizations, p. 130Google Scholar.

21. My notion of “political process” and its relationship to “state structure” is closely akin to Pierre Bourdieu's concept of “habitus” and its relationship to the “structure” of social life. See his Outline of a Theory of Practice (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1977), p. 78Google Scholar.

22. Aristotle, , Politics, bk. 3, p. 144Google Scholar.

23. Ibid., bk. 5, p. 244.

24. The rather short lives slogans enjoy is but one indicator. A good picture of the varied tasks Czech leaders faced after 1948 appears in Mnacko, Ladislav, A Taste of Power (New York: Praeger, 1966)Google Scholar.

25. For the distinction between “teleological” and “genetic” planning, see Nove, Alec, An Economic History of the USSR (New York: Penguin, 1980)Google Scholar.

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27. Aristotle lists them as “the ‘lopping off of outstanding men…, the adoption of every means for making every subject as much of a stranger as is possible to every other…, [requiring] every resident… to be constantly appearing in public…, endeavoring to get regular information about every man's saying and doings…, impoverishing [the] subjects…,” and so forth. Politics, bk. 5, p. 244.

28. Ibid., p. 247.

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32. Ibid.

33. For example, Kádár's first moves in Hungary in 1956 were designed not to build up a personal following but to rebuild the party organization, a process that entailed including many cadres who were less than enthusiastic about his leadership. For them, however, accepting Radar's leadership represented their only hope of reentering political life, while for Kádár, the reestablishment of party rule was the only condition under which he himself could affect the course of development in Hungary. See the essay by Ellen Comisso and Paul Marer in this volume.

34.Powercorresponds to the human ability not just to act but to act in concert. Power… belongs to a group and remains in existence only so long as the group keeps together… Authoritycan be vested in persons… or… in offices… Its hallmark is unquestioning recognition by those asked to obey; neither coercion nor persuasion is needed. To remain in authority requires respect for the person in office.” Arendt, , On Violence, pp. 4445Google Scholar. To use Rosabeth Kantor's formulation, “Power is the ability to get things done… to get and use whatever it is that a person needs for the goals he or she is attempting to meet… and thus it means having access to what is needed for the doing.” Kantor, , Men and Women in the Corporation (New York: Harper & Row, 1977), p. 166Google Scholar. Authority, in contrast, is “the established right… to determine policies, to pronounce judgments on relative issues, and to settle controversies.” Maclver, Robert, The Web of Government (New York: Macmillan, 1963)Google Scholar. Authority thus needs to be backed by power to be effective, whereas power must be exercised through authorized agents to command automatic obedience. Hence the possibility for checks and balances if the agents exercising each are separate and distinct.

35. “Performance” and “merit” thus reflect political considerations. Hence an enterprise director whose firm produces goods at a loss may be far more “meritous” than one whose firm runs a profit, if, say, the former is satisfying a supply constraint for items to which political leaders accord national economic importance.

Readers unfamiliar with Eastern Europe should bear in mind that a position allowing one to be a member of a party committee need not be a party position itself. The mayor of a town, for example, will normally be a member of the town party committee, but he or she is a fulltime state office-holder.

36. Csikos-Nagy was head of the Materials and Price Commission.

37. Burke's views on representation are scattered through his writings and parliamentary speeches. See Stanlis, Peter J., ed., Selected Writings and Speeches (Chicago: Gateway, 1964)Google Scholar; Burke, Edmund, Reflection on the Revolution in France (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1955)Google Scholar; Hoffman, Ross and Levack, Paul, eds., Burke's Politics (New York: Knopf, 1949)Google Scholar. See also Pitkin, Hanna, The Concept of Representation (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967)Google Scholar.

38. As Burke told the electors of Bristol, “Your representative owes you, not his industry but his judgment; and he betrays you, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.” Cited by Stanlis, , Writings, p. 187Google Scholar.

39. Ibid., p. 22.

40. See below, p. 230. Burke presents a highly idealized picture of 18-century British politics. In fact, according to Sir Lewis Namier, even in secure pocket boroughs or where the Crown covered a candidate's campaign expenses, “power was used… to satisfy local or even personal needs.” See Namier's, The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III, vol. 1 (London: Macmillan, 1929), p. 163Google Scholar The same is true in the real world of collegial socialism and for the same reasons: “At all times a system of spoils and benefits necessarily obtains in governing representative bodies where sharp contrasts of ideas and interests or strong party organizations do not pre-determine the vote of the individual Member, and do not reduce him to a mere pawn in the Parliamentary game. If personal disinterestedness is expected from independent members, they have at least to secure benefits and advantages for their constituents; and where the constituents are too numerous to be benefitted individually, it becomes a question of a commercial treaty, a tariff or a bounty favouring some local industry or public works in the district, etc.” Ibid., p. 22. As we shall see below for the socialist analogue to the politics of notables, Burke and Namier do not present mutually exclusive descriptions of a single reality but rather two sides of the same coin.

41. “I reverentially look up to the opinion of the people, and with an awe that is almost superstitious. I should be ashamed to show my face before them, if I changed my ground as they cried up or cried down men or things or opinion.” In Stanlis, , Writings, p. 322Google Scholar.

42. Hence power to control the agenda is a strategic political resource of considerable value, as is access to information. Interestingly, Namier also draws attention to the “remarkable level” on which naval debates were conducted in the House of Commons thanks to the heavy population of admirals among its members. See Structure of Politics, p. 41.

43. Ibid., p. 11.

44. See Baylis's essay in this volume.

45. Montesquieu, , The Spirit of the Laws, trans, by Nugent, Thomas (New York: Hafner, 1966), p. 49Google Scholar.

46. On the techniques of legislative leaders in assemblies with weak party discipline, see Shepsle, Kenneth and Humes, Brian, “Legislative Leadership: Organizational Entrepreneurs as Agents” (Paper presented at the Conference on Adaptive Institutions, Stanford University, 8–9 11 1984)Google Scholar; and Fiorina, Morris, Representatives, Roll Calls and Constituencies (Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books, 1974)Google Scholar.

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48. “The absence of effective political institutions capable of mediating, refining, and moderating group action” led to a situation in which “each group employs means which reflect its peculiar nature and capabilities. The wealthy bribe; the students riot; workers strike; mobs demonstrate; and the military coup.” Huntington, Samuel, Political Order in Changing Societies (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1968), p. 196Google Scholar. The parallels between the Polish crisis and the economic background to military takeovers in Latin America are striking. See O'Donnell, Guillermo, Modernization and Bureaucratic Authoritarianism (Berkeley: Institute of International Studies, University of California, 1979)Google Scholar.

49. As Katzenstein found in the OECD cases. See Katzenstein, , “Conclusion,” p. 920Google Scholar .