POL SCI 140L Lecture Notes - Lecture 34: Enemy Image, Mikhail Gorbachev, Democratic Centralism
19 Apr 2018
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Gorbachev thought the use of force was not the right method anymore . Opened up an arena for real politics. Nature of this state was unitary (power was in moscow, not like a confederation where it"s distributed evenly) Officials were always looking upwards ( what does moscow want from us? ) But once democratic elections were introduced, started looking downwards ( what"s best for my people? ) Gorbachev thought he"d be a universally recognized reformer. Thought he was doing best for his country. But yeltsin appears and says gorbachev isn"t moving fast enough, calls him too conservative. Autonomous regions want to start doing things their way! Yeltsin says to them take all the autonomy you can swallow . 4 days coup shows that elite was split and hardliners lacked confidence . Without those 3, there is no ussr. Democratization initiative came from the top, no need for violence or civil war.
