The Communist Experiment: Revolution, Socialism and Global Conflict in the Twentieth Century

by Robert Strayer

Overview

Part of the McGraw-Hill Explorations in World History Series, The Communist Experiment offers an accessible, comparative, and thematically complete treatment of the “communist experiment” based on the idea that communism represents a unique lens through which to view the history of the 20th century on a global scale. Because communism relates to many other events and forces of the world at that time—world war, fascism, the rise of the United States, decolonization, feminism, the rise of the Third World, revolution, and more—it provides an excellent pathway for understanding those developments and their effects throughout the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780072497441
Publisher:	McGraw-Hill Higher Education
Publication date:	01/09/2007
Series:	Explorations in World History Ser.
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)

Table of Contents

A Note from the Series Editors

Chapter I: Communism in Context

Communism as a Global Phenomenon

Communism in World History

Conclusion: Communism and the Twentieth Century

Chapter II: Revolution and the Birth of Communism

Why Revolution?

The Collapse of Old Regimes: Russia

The Collapse of Old Regimes: China

Nine Months: The Bolsheviks and the Russian Revolution

Thirty-eight Years: The Making of the Chinese Revolution

Conclusion: Unexpectedness and Conjuncture

Chapter III: Building Socialism Alone: Stalinism and the Soviet Experiment

The First Socialist Society

Stalinist Socialism

The Search for Enemies: A Soviet Holocaust

World War II and Beyond: Stalin's Final Years

Conclusion: Explaining Stalinism

Chapter IV: Mao's Path: Building Socialism in China

Starting Points: Comparing China and the Soviet Union

First Steps

Toward Socialism: Following the Soviet Model

Toward Socialism: Finding a Chinese Path

Conclusion: Socialism and the Search for Enemies: Comparing the Soviet Union and China

Chapter V: Communism in the Global Arena

Standing Alone: The Soviet Union and the World, 1917-1945

Europe Divided: The Origins of the Cold War, 1945-1950

Communist Breakthroughs in Asia, 1949-1954

The Global Expansion of the Cold War, 1955-1985

The Cold War and the Nuclear Arms Race

Dissension in the Communist World

Conclusion: The Communist World in the 1970s

Chapter VI: The End of the Communist Era

The Collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union

The Abandonment of Communism in China

TheFate of Two Communisms

The World and the End of the Communist Era

Conclusion: The Communist World in a New Century: Shrunken and Diluted

Epilogue: Communism and Reflections on History

Understanding and Forgetting

Intentions, Outcomes, and Surprises

Making History

Ambiguous Judgments

Suggestions for Further Reading

Notes

Credits

Index