Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Part I Introduction and Theory
- 1 Introduction
- 2 A Theory of Elite Cohesion, Coercive Capacity, and Authoritarian Social Order
- Part II Comparative Historical Analysis: Polish People’s Republic and the German Democratic Republic
- Part III Cross-national Quantitative Analysis
- Part IV Conclusion
- Appendix A Secret Police Agencies and Chiefs in Socialist Central and Eastern Europe, 1945–1989
- Appendix B Survival Analysis, Chapter 7
- Appendix C Agency Size Analysis, Chapter 8
- Bibliography
- Index
1 - Introduction
from Part I - Introduction and Theory
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 February 2024
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Part I Introduction and Theory
- 1 Introduction
- 2 A Theory of Elite Cohesion, Coercive Capacity, and Authoritarian Social Order
- Part II Comparative Historical Analysis: Polish People’s Republic and the German Democratic Republic
- Part III Cross-national Quantitative Analysis
- Part IV Conclusion
- Appendix A Secret Police Agencies and Chiefs in Socialist Central and Eastern Europe, 1945–1989
- Appendix B Survival Analysis, Chapter 7
- Appendix C Agency Size Analysis, Chapter 8
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
This introduction lays out the problem of enabling and controlling coercive agents under authoritarian regimes. It describes puzzling variation in the size and activities of coercive institutions across six regimes in Cold War Central and Eastern Europe. The theoretical approach of the book is briefly discussed, emphasizing elite cohesion over political threats. The research design, plan, and empirical findings of the book are discussed.
Keywords
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Watching the WatchersCommunist Elites, the Secret Police and Social Order in Cold War Europe, pp. 3 - 44Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024