From Reform to Revolution: The Demise of Communism in China and the Soviet Union [Paperback]

Minxin Pei (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 8, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0674325648 | ISBN-13: 978-0674325647

The demise of communism in the former Soviet Union and the massive political and economic changes in China are the stunning transformations of the 20th century this text argues. Two central questions are emerging: why did different communist systems experience different patterns of transition? and, why did partial reforms in the Soviet Union and China turn into revolutions?

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is an immensely exciting, sustained analytical effort ...this book is quite likely to become a classic in its field. (Pacific Review )

From Reform to Revolution makes an important contribution...and is likely to endure as a landmark study in the field. (Journal of Asian Studies )

The first comprehensive effort to compare the recent political experiences of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the People's Republic of China by tracing their overlapping and diverging paths of regime change...Very tightly argued and erudite.
--Philippe C. Schmitter (Russian Review )

An outstanding scholarly work with a powerful argument, reams of relevant data, and a crisp, succinct presentation. It is among the very best of its genre.
--Barrett McCormick (China Journal )

Breathtaking...Pei is original in exploring and explaining the conventional wisdom that China's Communist regime survived reform and the Soviet Union's did not because one undertook economic reform first and the other political reform first. What is breathtaking is...the author's range and detail, comprehending not only his native China, but the vast literature on the former USSR and its more than a dozen 'republics.'
--James A. Robinson (American Journal of Chinese Studies )

Pei's approach to sociopolitical change is rational-analytical. Rational social actors follow their interests, societies are seen as being governed by explicable laws within a systematic general comparative theory; any significant event has its (though ex post) explanation. Frequent references to past and present masters of social and political theory reveal the scholarly tradition and pedagogical skill of the author. Moreover, the reader cannot but admire the clarity of the narrative; concepts are always clearly defined, questions explicitly formulated, the style is balanced and accurate. The reader is invited to share a feel of rich factual complexity as well as a chess-like lawful quality in the flow of events.
--Ludek Rychetnik (Reviewing Sociology )

About the Author

Minxin Pei is Tom and Margot Pritzker ’72 Professor of Government and Roberts Fellow, and the director of the Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies at Claremont McKenna College.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (January 8, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674325648
• ISBN-13: 978-0674325647
• Product Dimensions: 0.6 x 6.1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,650,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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