Gorbachev and Lenin: Psychological Walls of the Soviet "Garrison State"

This paper explores the psychological-political break between Gorbachev and his predecessors. The conception of a powerful, ruthless, and cunning enemy identified with "imperialists" is seen as central to the viability of the Soviet "garrison state." It sanctioned the use of terr...

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Détails bibliographiques
Publié dans:Political Psychology. - Wiley Periodicals, 1979. - 14(1993), 4, Seite 627-650
Auteur principal: Groth, Alexander J. (Auteur)
Autres auteurs: Britton, Stuart
Format: Article en ligne
Langue:English
Publié: 1993
Accès à la collection:Political Psychology
Sujets:Psycho-political foundations Garrison state Imperialism Class struggle and struggle group New political notions undermining old concepts and institutions Political science Economics Behavioral sciences
Description
Résumé:This paper explores the psychological-political break between Gorbachev and his predecessors. The conception of a powerful, ruthless, and cunning enemy identified with "imperialists" is seen as central to the viability of the Soviet "garrison state." It sanctioned the use of terror as well as more subtle means of coercion and surveillance of the whole society allegedly threatened by the malevolent "enemy." By breaking with the traditional enunciations of this concept by previous leaders, especially Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev, and Brezhnev, Gorbachev set the psychopolitical foundations for far-reaching changes in the Soviet system, dramatically evident in the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. in December 1991.
ISSN:14679221
DOI:10.2307/3791378