Ideology, organization and the patrimonial regime

Abstract

The view of the communist party as a tightly organized, highly disciplined, efficient political structure is largely a myth. The communist party which achieved power in the Soviet Union, and which was the prototype for this myth, was unable to generate high levels of organizational autonomy, integrity and coherence. Instead it developed as an instrument of a dominant leader and, internally, was structured on the basis of the patrimonial principle. This meant that organizational linkages between different levels of the party were weak. In this context, the ideology and the leader cult intertwined so as to sustain and reinforce the patrimonial structure of power within the party. This linkage of organizational structure, ideology and cult has created real problems for those like Khrushchev and Gorbachev who have sought to replace the patrimonial structure by one based more on the party's organizational norms.