Political participation in the Soviet Union

By the Masses or for the Masses? The Transformation of Voluntary Action in the Czech Union for Nature Protection

“…In contrast to democratic systems, Soviet-type regimes were characterized by state control of most aspects of social, cultural, and political life (Hough, 1976). In socialist Czechoslovakia, for example, this led to mass organizations 1 being subordinated to the Communist Party apparatus through their affiliation with a state entity called the National Front (Národní fronta).…”

“…These voluntary activities provided a means for organizations to demonstrate their contribution to socialist society and for individuals to participate in well-defined aspects of public life (Hough, 1976). While control of associations was designed to ensure that the separation between society and the state would be minimized (Hough, 1976), members nonetheless developed social networks and bonds of trust as they worked together and gained familiarity with each other (Lane, 2005).…”

“…These voluntary activities provided a means for organizations to demonstrate their contribution to socialist society and for individuals to participate in well-defined aspects of public life (Hough, 1976). While control of associations was designed to ensure that the separation between society and the state would be minimized (Hough, 1976), members nonetheless developed social networks and bonds of trust as they worked together and gained familiarity with each other (Lane, 2005). Drawing on the relations they developed, dissidents and other independent-minded individuals sometimes would establish sub-groups within state-sponsored associations so that they would have a legitimate means for gathering and, in turn, a forum for exchanging ideas and information that often were obtained through underground channels (Rau, 1991;Siegel and Yancey, 1992;Skilling, 1988;Tismeanu, 1993).…”

“…for the state to promote its goals and inculcate participatory and collectivist values (Hough, 1976), in many cases, organizational membership was still a matter of individual choice and, when possible, people joined associations where they could work on societal issues that were of personal concern (Kundrata, 2001).…”

The electoral connection and democratic consolidation

“…During the communist regimes citizens in some of the former communist countries had opportunities to participate in certain free market activities (Kitschelt, 1992, 25). Many argue that there existed participatory activities in these regimes that had strong parallels to democratic participation (Hough, 1976;Hahn, 1988;Duch and Gibson, 1992).…”