Political Violence: Belief, Behavior, and Legitimation

259 Pages·2008·1.046 MB·English

by  Paul Hollander (eds.)

Political Violence
This page intentionally left blank
Political Violence
Belief, Behavior, and Legitimation
Edited by
Paul Hollander
POLITICAL VIOLENCE
Copyright © Paul Hollander, 2008.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2008 978-0-230-60646-3
All rights reserved.
First published in 2008 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States -
a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this
is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered
in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire
RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and
has companies and representatives throughout
the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-37374-1 ISBN 978-0-230-61624-0 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230616240
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Political violence : belief, behavior, and legitimation / edited by
Paul Hollander.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Political violence—Soviet Union—Congresses. 2. Political violence—
Congresses. I. Hollander, Paul.
HN530.Z9V646 2008
303.609172(cid:2)4—dc22 2008012363
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Macmillan India Ltd.
First edition: November 2008
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Robert Conquest
Poet, writer, historian – A man of durable accomplishments
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Paul Hollander: Introduction 1
Contemporary Political Violence and Its Legitimation
Part I Soviet Communism
1. Joshua Rubenstein: The Reception of Robert Conquest’s
The Great Terror 23
2. Norman M. Naimark: Stalin and the Question of
Soviet Genocide 39
3. Stephen F. Cohen: The Victims Return: Gulag Survivors
under Khrushchev 49
4. Mark Kramer: Leadership Succession and Political
Violence in the USSR Following Stalin’s Death 69
5. John B. Dunlop: Post-Communist Political Violence:
The Poisoning of Aleksandr Litvinenko 93
6. Lee Edwards: The Mass Media in the Service of Soviet
Communism and in Post-Communist Russia 109
Part II Comparative Perspectives
7. Arthur Waldron: Managed Spontaneity in Rural
Political Violence in China 127
8. Maria C. Werlau: Political Repression in Castro’s Cuba:
Policies, Institutions and Victims 143
9. Mark Falcoff: Revolutions and Revolutionary
Ideologies in Latin America 155
10. Anthony Daniels: Western Perceptions of
Postcolonial Violence in Africa 165
11. Ibn Warraq: Apologists of Totalitarianism:
From Communism to Islam 177
12. David Pryce-Jones: The Roots of Arab and
Muslim Violence 193
Notes 205
Notes on Contributors 253
Biographical Appendix: Robert Conquest 255
This page intentionally left blank
Acknowledgments
My efforts to honor Robert Conquest by editing a collection of writings inspired
by his work and by organizing a conference of those who produced them have been
helped by various organizations and individuals. Major credit goes to the Bradley
Foundation, and especially to Dianne Sehler, Director of Academic Programs, which
provided essential moral and material support and to the American Enterprise
Institute (AEI) and its president at the time, Christopher DeMuth, that hosted the
conference that took place on November 6–7, 2007 in Washington D.C. Most of
the contributors presented the fi rst draft of their chapters at the conference.
I also owe a longstanding personal debt to both of these institutions: The Bradley
Foundation supported my own work on several occasions in past decades while
the AEI invited me a number of times over the years to expose my ideas on vari-
ous subjects to interested and knowledgeable audiences. I also thank the National
Association of Scholars, and its President Stephen Balch for administering the grant
provided by the Bradley Foundation. The publisher Palgrave Macmillan, and Toby
Wahl, its senior editor, in particular, deserve credit for readily offering a contract for
this volume. Two moderators at the conference, Leon Aron and Norman Ornstein
signifi cantly contributed to the success of the proceedings. Kara Flook of AEI dili-
gently and dependably attended to the numerous organizational and logistic tasks
the conference required.
I also take this opportunity to thank Stephen F. Cohen, Peter Kenez, Harvey Klehr,
Mark Kramer and Norman Naimark for their thoughtful comments about the intro-
duction that follows. Erika Pfaff, my research assistant, performed a variety of tasks
essential for producing this book with dedication, intelligence, thoroughness and
good judgment.