Dilemmas of Local Politics in Communist States

Abstract

COMMUNIST GOVERNMENTS, we once seemed to forget, govern citizens in provinces, counties, towns and villages which are far removed both geographically and psychologically from the more recognizable foci of Western journalism such as the Kremlin or Tien An Men Square. This paper arises from my conviction that the successes or failures of communist governments at levels, where contact with the citizenry is most frequent and most salient, will determine the long-term prognosis for such systems. While machinations within politburos, central committees and national ministries must be studied carefully, questions about the viability and/or stability of communist party governments cannot be considered adequately at that level of analysis alone. Because of recent empirical research it is now possible to offer broadly comparative conclusions about the role of sub-national political institutions in communist systems and, more important, the issues which confront these systems arising from politics. In the first part of the following essay, I will identify the ideological and practical considerations which lead communist parties to erect and promote complex hierarchies for politics in states they rule. Local political activity thereby fostered by central authorities has, however, engendered several of the most vexing problems faced b-y communist systems, a consideration of which is the second portion of this paper. Because my approach is comparative, I take the broadest meaning of local political units, and include all subdivisions of a political