Perestroika and the Decline of Soviet Legitimacy
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Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Master's Theses Graduate College 8-1993 Contracts in Conflict: erP estroika and the Decline of Soviet Legitimacy Karl Glenn Hokenmaier Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses Part of the European History Commons, and the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Hokenmaier, Karl Glenn, "Contracts in Conflict: erP estroika and the Decline of Soviet Legitimacy" (1993). Master's Theses. 775. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/775 This Masters Thesis-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CONTRACTS IN CONFLICT: PERESTROIKA AND THE DECLINE OF SOVIET LEGITIMACY by Karl Glenn Hokenmaier A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Department of Political Science Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan August 1993 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CONTRACTS IN CONFLICT: PERESTROIKA AND THE DECLINE OF SOVIET LEGITIMACY Karl Glenn Hokenmaier, M.A. Western Michigan University, 1993 Gorbachev’s perception of the Soviet Union’s socio-economic crisis and his subsequent actions to correct the economy and reform the political system were linked with attempts to renegotiate the social contract between the state and the Soviet people. However, reformulation of the social contract was incompatible with the conditions of a second arrangement between the leadership and the nomenklatura-the Soviet ruling class. The failure of Gorbachev’s reforms and the decline of Soviet legitimacy were linked to the irreconcilability of the nomenklatura’s "political contract" and the social contract. The construct of the social contract was utilized to represent the Soviet state-society relationship and provide a framework for the analysis of social conflict during the Gorbachev years. The social contract offered an effective model to depict the expectations and obligations of the state and society, and evaluate state legitimacy based on contract performance. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS So many people contributed to the accomplishment of this work that it is impossible to thank them all. The following are just a few who contributed to its completion. First, to the members of my thesis committee, Dr. Jim Butterfield, Dr. William Ritchie, and Dr. Scott Tanner, I extend my sincere appreciation for their guidance and support. I would especially like to acknowledge the effort of Jim Butterfield, who kept this "project" focussed, meaningful, and on schedule. Second, to all my family and friends who provided continuous support and encouragement of my effort, I owe a debt of gratitude. I mention but a few and they include: my parents, Gertrude M. and Karl G. Hokenmaier, whose love and inspiration strengthened my resolve to persist; and my grandmother, sisters, and brothers, whose understanding and offerings of encouragement were always well- timed and sparked my onward progress. I would also like to thank Dr. Richard McAnaw, whose advice was invaluable. Finally, to my friend Dr. Peter Renstrom, for his support of my graduate work and ability to keep all things in their proper perspective, I express my appreciation. Karl Glenn Hokenmaier ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely afreet reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. 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Order Number 1353643 Contracts in conflict:Perestroika and the decline of Soviet legitim acy Hokenmaier, Karl Glenn, M.A. Western Michigan University, 1993 UMI 300 N. Zeeb R4 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................... ii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION............................................................................. 1 The Paradigm of Soviet Governance....................................... 1 Social Contract Doctrine and a Soviet Construct..................... 4 Origins of the Social Contract D octrine............................5 The Social Contract and a Soviet Construct.....................8 Other Definitions and Terminology....................................... 14 Governance .................................................................... 14 Nomenklatura.................................................................. 14 The Political C ontract.................................................... 16 Legitimacy and Governance........................................... 20 Review of Related Literature ................................................ 21 The Origins and Conflict of the Soviet Social and Political Contracts ........................................................... 29 Purpose and Organization of the S tu d................................ y 35 II. A NEW LEADERSHIP: 1985-1987 .............................................. 37 Gorbachev’s Charter: Get the Economy Moving!.............. 37 The Soviet Social and Political Contracts: 1985.................. 39 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents-Continued CHAPTER New Thinking and Movement Toward Reform .................. 42 Glasnost................................................................................... 50 The 1987 Experimental Soviet Elections.............................. 52 The Changing Social and Political Contracts ....................... 56 III. PERESTROIKA AND DEMOCRATIZATION: 1987-1989 ... 62 Phase Two: Get the Economy Moving!................................ 62 Contracts Under Pressure: From System-Adaptive Change to Reform ............................................................................... 63 Economic Reform................................................................... 67 The Law on State Enterprise......................................... 67 The Law on Cooperatives............................................. 69 Political R efo rm...................................................................... 71 The Nationality and Federal Q uestions................................ 75 A Changing Paradigm of Soviet Governance....................... 78 IV. THE UNRAVELING: 1989-1991............................................... 85 Destructive Perestroika: Disintegration of the Soviet State................................................................. 85 Contract Reformulation ........................................................ 87 Economic Reform.................................................................... 96 Political Reform and a New Soviet Politics....................... 102 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents-Continued CHAPTER The Nationalities Question.................................................. 105 Disintegration of the USSR.................................................. 109 V. CONCLUSION ............................................................................. 113 End of the Soviet Paradigm ............................................... 113 Use of the Social Contract Construct in the Soviet Context ........................................................... 115 Soviet Governance and Legitimacy.................................... 118 The Nomenklatura and the Soviet