Toward the Comparative Analysis of Transitions from State Socialism: Structure, Agency and Contingency

Abstract

The comparative study of the transition from state socialism has much to gain from broadening its canvas from the good work that has already been done comparing the USSR/Russia with China and the comparisons among the former Central and Eastern European state socialisms. It can take as its starting point the well developed ''transitology'' from authoritarianism to democracy. But there are fundamental differences too, especially in that the transitions from state socialism will probably require much more attention to structural explanans, which were deëmphasized in favor of agency and contingency in the work on transitions from authoritarianism. That said, virtú and fortuna will remain crucial as the open-ended transitions from state socialism continue to play themselves out.