Communist Heritage Research Articles

Labour Management as Development of the Integrated Developmental State in China

The application of the developmental state concept outside its birthplace in East Asia is generally unsuccessful. The culprit is the ‘laundry list’ method commonly seen in the literature. In this paper a ‘strategic capacity’ conceptualisation is used instead, with emphasis on its diverse institutional underpinnings. The paper demonstrates that the Chinese state's approach to industrial relations is integrated with its national development strategy and that crafting institutions of labour management is part of the state's effort at building up its strategic capacity for political, social and economic management. The study delineates the factors shaping labour management institutions, paying special attention to the communist heritage that sets China apart from other developmental states. As such, the concept of developmental state has much wider application.

Art for/of the Masses

Communism has influenced art practices for nearly a century, yet studies on how artists from post-Socialist countries respond to their Communist heritage remain limited in both scope and depth. This article examines how Chinese artists today appropriated, investigated and performed their revolutionary legacy. This article surveys a variety of practices while focusing on the Long March Project (2002), a group project that re-enacted a legendary episode of the Chinese Communist Party in its original locale. While many artists under discussion confront the Communist legacy with a combination of irony and nostalgia, some simulate Maoist strategies to shed new light on issues in contemporary art – its increasing detachment from a wider audience and its persistent fetishisation of individuality. The grassroots and improvisational approach of the Long March, the author argues, leads to a ‘communal aesthetics’: an art practice that appears genuinely collaborative, engaging and provocative in its geo-historical specificity yet falls flat when displayed in institutional settings.

Budapest: from socialist heritage to cultural capital?

As observed by Hughes and Allen (2005). [Cultural tourism in Central and Eastern Europe: The views of ‘induced image formation agents’. Tourism Management, 26(2), 173–183], cultural tourism in Hungary appears to be almost inseparable from general tourism, therefore Budapest has traditionally promoted itself as a cultural capital. However, the emphasis has mainly been on heritage tourism [Smith, M.K., & Puczkó, L. (2010). Out with the old, in with the New? 20 years of post-socialist marketing in Budapest. Journal of City Marketing, 1(3), 288–299] and in the first few years following 1989, socialist heritage was particularly important [Rátz, T. (2004). European tourism. Székesfehérvár: Kodolányi János University College; Young, C., & Light, D. (2006). ‘Communist heritage tourism’: Between economic development and European integration. In D. Hassenpflug, B. Kolbmüller, & S. Schröder-Esch (Eds.), Heritage and media in Europe – contributing towards integration and regional development (pp. 249–263). Weimar: Bauhaus Universität]. Several years later, the globalisation of Budapest means that the city is gradually changing its image to incorporate not only heritage (including that of pre-socialist regimes), but also more diverse forms of cultural tourism to compete with many other destinations worldwide. A combination of methods are used to show the development of heritage and cultural tourism in Budapest, including over 4000 surveys collected in 2009 in conjunction with the Budapest Cultural Work Group on the cultural habits of tourists in Budapest and a content analysis of 20 years of city marketing materials (1989–2009). Evidence suggests that although some creative approaches to packaging and marketing cultural tourism exist in Budapest, the product is still mainly heritage-focused. The authors discuss the extent to which this is the most appropriate form of development for the Hungarian capital. The changing cultural image and identity of Budapest will also be explored in relation to national, regional, and global developments. One of the other key questions is how far the focus of cultural tourism should remain on the national capital in a country where other cities and towns are relatively under-visited.

Romanian spa tourism: a communist paradigm in a post communist era

Spa tourism is one of the oldest forms of tourism which continuously evolved in time as the leisure industry paradigm and the consumers' behavior changed. Similar to other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, spa tourism is an old phenomenon in Romania which expanded to the dimensions of a well defined tourism indus try during the mass tourism period which also corresponded to the communism epoch. Although severely affected by the major political and socio-economic changes which occurred after the Revolution in 1989, this industry coexists with new emergent forms of tourism orienting, itself towards new dimensions embraced by the contemporary leisure consumerism (e.g. medi cal tourism, cosmetic treatments). Lying on considerable balneal and climate resources and displaying an important communist heritage both in physical terms (large and massive tourism structures) and in virtual and psychological terms (social supportive ticket granting system), Romanian spa tourism faces various challenges in the attempt to adapt in a new tourism era.

Red tourism: sustaining communist identity in a rapidly changing China

‘Red tourism’ is to exploit the historical heritage of the Chinese Communist Party for tourism development. Such tourism practice has been used by the nation state of China both to drive the country's economic growth and develop new patronage of the communist ideology among the young generation. From the broader context of China's economic and social changes since 1978 when the country started its open-door policy and economic reform, our paper attempts to examine ‘red tourism’ by analyzing how the nation state of China promotes the communist heritage through ‘red tourism’ in order to sustain the communist identity in a rapidly changing China. Research questions are raised to address the economic and social factors for the nation state involvement in ‘red tourism’: the specific roles of such involvement and the outcomes. Based on a case study, this paper presents how heritage is interpreted at a specific ‘red tourism’ site in order to portray a selective part of the communist heritage as a symbol of the Chinese nation. In so doing, ‘red tourism’ aims to serve the purpose of the nation state to sustain the communist identity in the continuing effort of developing a ‘socialist country of Chinese characteristics’.

Human Capital and Innovativeness as Means to Bridging Development Gaps. Poland and the Czech Republic as Case Studies

Human Capital and Innovativeness as Means to Bridging Development Gaps. Poland and the Czech Republic as Case Studies The aim of this article is to analyze the innovative achievements of selected economies: Polish and Czech. This issue is of fundamental significance for all post socialist countries. Post communist heritage in form of homo sovieticus is really far from innovative performance. The author assumed that innovativeness is the component of human capital whilst the conceptions of innovativeness were dealt with as the development challenge and the criterion of efficiency for contemporary economies, creating the opportunity to speed up the pace of narrowing the development gap. It is reflected in the title of the study. The methodological basis and data source are Knowledge Assessment Methodology (KAM 2009) and European Innovation Scorecard (EIS 2009). The fulfillment of this aim, in the author's opinion, relied on presenting the coordination of innovative actions of managing entities and underlining the growing significance of network structures. On the basis of the conducted empirical analysis encompassing the years 2003-2008, there was observed, mostly in Poland and to smaller extent in the Czech Republic, a low level of innovativeness and its unsatisfactory dynamics, as well as poor use of relatively numerous human capital for attaining goals. In the conclusion part of the article, there were presented problems connected with the necessity of consequent impact on the quality of human capital and level of innovativeness. In order to overcome barriers, the author postulates to establish a pro-innovative institutional order and indicates the need for systemic attitude towards these reforms.

Seven Years of Financial Market Reform in Central Europe

After seven years of transformation it is getting more and more difficult to blame the communist heritage for the state of the financial markets in the ten Central European countries which are candidates for EU membership. Only Hungary and Estonia have made sufficient progress in financial market reform. The financial sector mostly is neither sound nor strong enough to exercise effective corporate governance. Since the necessary reform steps are well known, but only hesitantly implemented by governments and parliaments the authors come to the conclusion, that influential stakeholders (politicians, insiders and industry clusters) are not strongly interested in prudent banking. Direct gains from non-prudent banking accrue mostly to insiders which are politically strong enough to delay efficient implementation of the rules prevailing in EU countries.

Red Tourism in China 中国的红色旅游

Heritage tourism has been a substantial subject in tourism studies in the past decades. New types of heritage are exploited and marketed in the tourism industry along with its rapid development. Within this trend, so‐called ”red tourism„ has recently witnessed a noteworthy growth in China. This article attempts to review this line of research by, first, conceptualizing red tourism in general, and second, by differentiating it from the current communist heritage tourism practice in Europe. Sources for review include available government documents, newspapers, and academic research papers, which enables the depiction of a brief picture of red tourism with special highlights of the political nature of government involvement in both the supply‐and‐demand sites of heritage tourism. On the basis of those, recommendations are proposed for future studies regarding heritage tourism in general and red tourism in particular. 过去几十年来，遗产旅游一直是旅游领域中重要的研究课题。随着遗产旅游的迅猛发展，新兴类型的遗产旅游被开发和推出市场出售。在这种趋势的带动下，所谓的“红色旅游”最近在中国得到飞速发展。本文首先将总的红色旅游概念化，然后区分红色旅游与欧洲当前的共产主义遗产旅游，以评论这方面的研究。本文审视的资料来源于政府公文、报纸以及学术研究论文。这些资料不但能概括红色旅游的内容，而且能够突出在遗产旅游景点供求方面政府参与的政治性质。最后，根据上述分析，本文提出对一般遗产旅游和红色旅游的相关建议。

The Survival of Post-communist Networks: A Challenge to European Unity?

Although the fall of the Iron Curtain seemed to pave the way towards a new era of security, freedom and wealth in Central and Eastern Europe, the transition to democracy has been hindered by the weight of its communist heritage. In fact, elites of the old regimes have continued to play a determinant role, to the detriment of the growth of fully democratic societies. This article explores the consequences of post-communism, emphasising the disastrous effects of networks made up of former apparatchiks. The latter have often succeeded in retaining political and economic control in the new democracies. As a result, a genuine process of Europeanisation is hampered by the survival of the Soviet model of authoritarianism and manipulation of information, as demonstrated by an analysis of recent Hungarian political history.

Communism, Heritage and Tourism in East Asia

This study examines the linkages which connect Communism, heritage and tourism with reference to selected East Asian states which are governed by Communist regimes or have recent experience of Communist rule. Aspects of the heritage of Communism are seen to be of interest to tourists, but related visitor attractions also have a wider social and political significance and illustrate how tourism can be employed as a hegemonic tool and propaganda vehicle. Heritage, including that of Communism itself, thus serves as economic, social and political capital within a Communist context where the defining characteristics of government give rise to a distinctive relationship between political systems, heritage and tourism.

Civil society and post-communist democratization: Facing a double challenge in post-Milošević Serbia

Civil society literature attributes the weakness of post-communist civil society to the communist heritage. It is structurally weak, the argument goes, because post-communist citizens are averse to voluntary organizations and because of ethnic nationalism. This article goes beyond the heritage argument and contends that post-communist civil society is weakened by democratization itself. Post-communist democratizing states are fragmented structurally and ideologically, and lack a consensus on the liberal state as a provider of public goods and an inclusive citizenship. Simultaneously, the non-state sector in post-communism is expanding in both liberal and illiberal directions. While the liberal segments of the state respond to a liberal civil society, its illiberal segments reinforce an illiberal civil society. Consequently, ‘good’ civil society is forced to confront ideologically both the illiberal state and illiberal non-state groups, which limits its potential contribution to promoting good governance. The argument is illustrated by a study of civil society's transformation in post-Milošević Serbia and the struggle by liberal civil society groups for acceptance of responsibility for Serbian war crimes committed in the wars of Yugoslavia's disintegration in the 1990s.

EU Accession and Interest Politics in Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract EU‐related issues and patterns of behaviour are permeating the new member states’ domestic environments. The literature assessing the domestic impact of the Eastward Enlargement focuses on the institutional capability of the new member states to meet the accession criteria as defined in Copenhagen in 1993. This article expands the remit of the debate on Europeanisation in the new member states from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) by assessing the impact of EU membership on interest politics. The analysis undertaken here focuses on Business Interest Associations (BIAs), their behaviour and patterns of interaction with decision makers at the national and transnational levels. Their experience illustrates the effect of EU accession on the new member states’ repertoires for interest intermediation and the relevance of policy transfer paradigms as suitable research frameworks. At the same time, the impact of the communist heritage and the constraints of domestic political cultures reveal patterns of ...

EU accession and interest politics in central and Eastern Europe

EU‐related issues and patterns of behaviour are permeating the new member states’ domestic environments. The literature assessing the domestic impact of the Eastward Enlargement focuses on the institutional capability of the new member states to meet the accession criteria as defined in Copenhagen in 1993. This article expands the remit of the debate on Europeanisation in the new member states from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) by assessing the impact of EU membership on interest politics. The analysis undertaken here focuses on Business Interest Associations (BIAs), their behaviour and patterns of interaction with decision makers at the national and transnational levels. Their experience illustrates the effect of EU accession on the new member states’ repertoires for interest intermediation and the relevance of policy transfer paradigms as suitable research frameworks. At the same time, the impact of the communist heritage and the constraints of domestic political cultures reveal patterns of behaviour at the national and supranational level in a path‐dependency fashion. The evidence presented here will show that the Europeanised activities of Central and Eastern European interest groups constitute a peculiar model of interest intermediation, where the exchange and ownership of information take prominence over the actual impact on policy‐making.

Why transitional public relations methodologies are needed for the reform of higher education in the countries of central and eastern Europe

This essay reflects upon the themes that emerged from the “Public Relations—An Instrument for the Transformation and Development of Higher Education in Central and Eastern Europe” seminar, for which the articles appearing in this issue of Higher Education in Europe were originally prepared. The transitional public relations approach, which was developed and introduced to the world public relations literature by the author, is used to analyze the impact of this type of public relations on the reform of higher education in the former communist countries of Europe. The main conclusion is that, in view of the common communist heritage of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the application of public relations strategies and instruments in higher education accelerates and facilitates reform of this key area of the economy and also causes it to become more effective. The above statement is particularly valid for private universities.

Reform of Education in Romania in the 1990s: A Retrospective

The author, a well-known Romanian academic and politician, reflects upon the nearly three years, beginning in December 1997, that he served as Minister of National Education. A member of the Democratic Coalition government, he was granted a mandate to undertake a massive and comprehensive reform of the whole Romanian education system. His aim was to remove the last vestiges of the communist heritage from it, to adapt it to European Union norms, and thus to enable Romania to meet the educational criteria for accession to the European Union. He set in motion a reform process that was even more profound than the earlier communist reform of Romanian education in 1948.

Polish Floods Clues for Civil Society and the State Post-Communism

A collective panic, which spread in Poland during the flood of July 1997, revealed off-stage properties of state-citizens relationships, i.e. the inability to trust, as an important aspect of post-communist societies. The AA. take the city of Wroclaw as a local string point for a study of citizenship-relations in post-communist Poland which are related to specific hidden histories - the communist heritage as well as the repressed German past of the region. Both factors, by producing overcentralization and unaccountability of state structures, deep rivalry among political actors, disrespect and distrust among citizens and between citizens and states, as well as collective amnesia, explain the incapacity of Wroclaw's citizens to keep control over their city, the Odra river, the state organizations and their imagination.

The role of government information officers

In most countries, a key figure in the provision of public information at the central government level is the government information officer (GIO). These individuals may be known as spokespersons, press officers, press attachés, public affairs officers, or public information officers. A GIO contributes to public understanding of government policies and raises awareness of the roles of decision makers and purview of state institutions, the availability of social services, noteworthy trends, and risks to public health and safety. In Central and Eastern Europe, a GIO's responsibilities typically include: monitoring media coverage of public affairs; briefing and advising political officials; managing media relations; providing information directly to the public; sharing information across the administration; formulating communication strategies and campaigns; and researching and assessing public opinion. Because of the region's communist heritage, GIOs in Central and Eastern Europe confront a number of special challenges, starting with poorly performing public administrations. Other problems include immature media, secrecy and political influence, and a lack of training and skills. However, as democratic, market, and media practices in Central and Eastern Europe come to resemble those in Western Europe, the activities and attitudes of GIOs in the former region are becoming more like their counterparts in the latter.

An Unwanted Past: contemporary tourism and the heritage of communism in Romania

This paper considers how the legacy of communism and revolution has become the focus of interest among Western tourists in post-communist Bucharest. It argues that 'communist heritage' tourism - the consumption of key sights and sites associated with the Ceausescu regime and its overthrow - has emerged as a particular form of cultural or heritage tourism for special interest tourists. However, this is a heritage which is defined and constructed entirely outside Romania. Within Romania itself there is understandably little desire to remember the period of communist rule, and the legacy of this period is powerfully dissonant with the country's post-communist aspirations. Consequently, as a consideration of two case studies illustrates, there is no concern to interpret the legacy of communism for tourists; instead there is an attempt to deny or airbrush out this period of the country's history.

Gazing on communism: Heritage tourism and post-communist identities in Germany, Hungary and Romania

This paper considers 'communist heritage' tourism (that is, the consumption of sites and sights associated with the former communist regimes) in contemporary Central and Eastern Europe. As one form of special interest tourism, this phenomenon is an illustration of the ever-diversifying tourist gaze. However, such tourism also raises wider issues concerning the relationship between tourism and the politics of identity in the region. While the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe are seeking to construct new, post-communist identities (a process in which tourism can play a significant part), this project is frustrated by tourists' interest in the 'heritage' of communism. Through consideration of three case studies of communist heritage tourism (the Berlin Wall, Budapest's Statuepark, and Bucharest's 'House of the People') the paper examines the strategies which different countries (Germany, Hungary and Romania) have adopted to negotiate and accommodate such tourism without compromising post-communist identities. L'éssai étudie 'le tourisme de patrimoine communiste' (ca veut dire, la consommation des sites et des monuments associées avec les anciens régimes communistes) dans l'Europe Centrale et de l'Est contemporaine. Comme une forme de tourisme special, cet phénomène est une illustration du tourisme qui continue de divérsifier. Cependant, tel tourisme aussi soulève de grands problèmes de la relation entre le tourisme et la politique d'identité dans la région. Quoique les anciens pays communistes de l'Europe Centrale et de l'Est cherchent a établir de nouveaux identités après-communiste (un processus dans lequel le tourisme joue un role important), ce project est deçu par l'intéret des touristes dans le patrimoine communiste. L'article examine trois études de cas de tourisme de patrimoine communiste (le Mur de Berlin, Statue parc de Budapest, 'la Maison du peuple' Bucarest). L'éssai étudie les stratégies que les différents pays ont adoptés pour négocier et adapter tèl tourisme sans risquer les identités apres-communiste.

Economic structure of society and continuity of power in Serbia

Topic of the article is continuity of socialist power with previous communist in Serbia, analyzed mostly in its economic aspect. Starting point in the analysis is that one of basic constitutive institution of former social system is social/state property, and economy founded on it is completely remaining in spite of abandoning of communist heritage. Development of private sector could not have important influence on economic structure, for privatization of social property have been hindered by political means. That provide evidence that in the last years in Serbia in the economic realm, nothing is changed except remarkable fall of national income. For type of socio-economic mediating springs out from the type of property, all social institution and instruments of command economy are unchanged in the former forms. That means that prevails basic economic structure of former socialist system. Its main trait is that political power supreme organizer and arbiter in economic transaction. Thus, it is evident that after introduction of one type of political pluralism Serbian economy still have command character.