Local Communities and Post-Communist Transformation: Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia
ISBN: 9780203633953
Platform/Publisher: Taylor & Francis / Routledge
Digital rights: Users: Unlimited; Printing: Unlimited; Download: Unlimited
Subjects: Politics & International Relations; European Politics; Russian & Soviet Politics;

Post-communist transformation in the former Soviet bloc has had a profound effect, not just in the political and economic sphere, but on all aspects of life. Although a great deal has been written about transformation, much of it has been about transformation viewed from the top, and little has been written about how things have changed for ordinary people at the local level.
This book, based on extensive original research, examines the changes resulting from transformation at the local level in the form Czechoslovakia. It considers especially local democracy, social movements, and work collectives, and paints a picture of people gradually growing in self-confidence and taking more control of their communities, having lived for decades in a framework where so much was directed from the top.

Simon Smith is a research lecturer in the Centre for Contemporary European Studies at the University of Paisley. His current research interests cover civil society, collective action, local culture, and local and regional government in Central and Eastern Europe.

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