1989 as a Political World Event: Democracy, Europe and the New International System in the Age of Globalization

272 Pages·2014·6.079 MB·English

by  Jacques Rupnik

1989 as a Political World Event
This book is not about the events of 1989, but about 1989 as a world event.
Starting with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet bloc it
examines the historical significance and the world brought about by 1989.
When the Cold War ended in Europe it ushered in a world in which the inter-
national agenda is set outside Europe, in America or Asia. The book critically
examines and moves beyond some of the conveniently simple paradigms pro-
posed in the 1990s, by leading political scientists such as Fukuyama and Hunt-
ington, to show how the events of 1989 meant different things to different
parties. This was an anti- utopian revolution, a symbol of the possibility of non-
violent transitions to democracy, which raised the hopes of world- wide demo-
cratic changes. Contributors show how 1989 can be seen as the founding
moment of a globalized world, but equal attention should be given to the disper-
sion of its meanings and the exhaustion of some of its main trends associated
with the post- 1989 era. Europe was reunited, yet it is in crisis. Some 20 years on,
global markets have brought about a global financial crisis. The fall of the Berlin
Wall was celebrated as the advent of free movement in a world without borders.
Now however, we can see that new borders, walls, fences have since been built.
With an introductory essay by Václav Havel, 1989 as a Political World Event
will be of interest to scholars of European Politics and International Relations.
Jacques Rupnik is Senior Research Fellow at CERI and Professor at Sciences
Po, Paris and the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.
Routledge series on global order studies
Edited by
David Armstrong
University of Exeter, UK
and
Karoline Postel-V inay
CERI, Sciences-P o, Paris, France
This new series focuses on the major global issues that have surfaced in recent
years that will pose significant and complex challenges to global governance in
the next few decades. The books will explore challenges to the current global
order and relate to these themes:
• The Challenge to Western Dominance
• The Challenge to International Governance
• Religion, Nationalism and Extremism
• Sustainable Growth
• Global Justice and the Poorest Countries
• The Implications of the Global Economic Crisis for Future World Order
1 Redefining Regional Power in International Relations
Indian and South African perspectives
Miriam Prys
2 Turkey between Nationalism and Globalization
Riva Kastoryano
3 Contemporary Political Agency
Theory and practice
Edited by Bice Maiguashca and Raffaele Marchetti
4 1989 as a Political World Event
Democracy, Europe and the new international system in the age of
globalization
Edited by Jacques Rupnik
1989 as a Political World Event
Democracy, Europe and the new
international system in the age of
globalization
Edited by Jacques Rupnik
First published 2014
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2014 Jacques Rupnik for selection and editorial matter; individual
contributors their contributions
The right of Jacques Rupnik to be identified as the author of the editorial
material and the authors of their individual chapters has been asserted in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988.
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without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging- in-Publication Data
1989 as a political world event: democracy, globalisation and the
international system / edited by Jacques Rupnik.
pages cm. – (Routledge series on global order studies; 4)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Nineteen eighty-nine, A.D. 2. World politics–1985–1995. 3.
Post-communism–History. 4. Democratization–History. I. Rupnik,
Jacques. II. Title: Nineteen eighty-nine as a political world event.
D856.A178 2013
909.82'8–dc23
2013014933
ISBN: 978-0-415-61589-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-88449-3 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
To the memory of Václav Havel (1936–2011)
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
List of figures ix
List of tables x
Notes on contributors xi
Preface xvi
1 On the unpredictability of history 1
VáCLAV HAVEL
PART I
The meanings and legacies of 1989 5
2 The world after 1989 and the exhaustion of three cycles 7
JACquES RuPNIK
3 Writing 1989: a world narrative? 25
KAROLINE POSTEL- VINAy
4 1989: a philosophy of immediacy 34
ZAkI LAïDI
PART II
Re- inventing democracy and its discontents 43
5 Democracy and dissatisfaction 45
IVAN KRASTEV
6 From the revolutions of 1989 to democracy fatigue in
Eastern Europe 56
JACquES RuPNIK
7 The difficult new era for international democracy support 72
THOMAS CAROTHERS
viii Contents
8 Civil society: from myth to reality 79
GRzEGORz EKIERT AND ROBERTO FOA
9 ‘Tropical democracy’ 101
RICHARD BANéGAS
10 The Arab four seasons: when an excess of religion leads to
political secularization 111
OLIVIER ROy
PART III
Varieties of capitalism in the age of globalization 127
11 Institutional change and market transitions after socialism 129
LESzEK BALCEROWICz
12 The political economy of post-1989 capitalism in
East- Central Europe 152
CLAuS OFFE
13 1989 and the advent of an authoritarian state capitalism in
China 169
JEAN- FRANçOIS HuCHET
PART IV
Between global governance and new power rivalries 183
14 American visions of the world after 1989 185
JOHN L. HARPER
15 Russia and the quest for lost power 196
MARIE MENDRAS
16 China and the end of socialism in Europe: a godsend for the
Beijing Communists 212
JEAN- PHILIPPE BéJA
17 The UN and the changing meaning of an international
community 223
JEAN- MARIE GuéHENNO
Index 242
Figures
6.1 Political freedom in the post-communist space 59
8.1 The NGO Sustainability Index for four groups of
post- communist countries (lower numbers correspond to
better conditions) 89
8.2 Log strikes per capita 91
8.3 Trust in civil society organizations 93
11.1 Per capita GDP in 1950 and 1990, Poland vs. Spain and
Hungary vs. Austria 133
11.2 Per capita GDP in 1950 and 2003, North Korea vs. South
Korea, Cuba vs. Chile, and China 133
11.3 Private sector share in GDP 135
11.4 Average of transition indicators (EBRD), 2009 136
11.5 GDP per capita 2009 137
11.6 Inflation 2008 138
11.7 FDI stock 2008) 139
11.8 GDP/unit of energy use 139
11.9 Life expectancy at birth 2007 140
11.10 Gini index 141
12.1 Average growth rates for the years 1990–2010 155
12.2 Social expenditure (as percentage of GDP) in 2006 and Social
Democratic vs. Non-L eftist Party composition of government,
1991–2006 159
12.3 The economic situation in this country is better today than
around 1989 161–162
12.4 Trust in society 163
12.5 Top statutory personal income tax rate. 2006 income, % 165
12.6 Adjusted top statutory corporate income tax rate. 2010
income, % 165
13.1 Fiscal revenues (center and provinces) as a percentage of
GDP 173
13.2 The percentage of tax receipts going respectively to the
central state and to the local administrations 175