Internationalism and the Ideology of Soviet Influence in Eastern Europe

Download or read book Internationalism and the Ideology of Soviet Influence in Eastern Europe written by Jonathan C. Valdez and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1993-04-29 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Valdez argues that the use of the fundamental principles of Marxism-Leninism to perform various functions ultimately brought about a change in the basic assumptions of the theory itself. This resulted in the abandonment of the previous insistence on a universal model of socialism and of the idea that the international interests of the socialist bloc must take precedence over individual national interest. Soviet influence in Eastern Europe rested on little else than these ideological principles and consequently stood little chance of surviving their re-interpretation. Finally Valdez assesses the re-interpretation of the fundamental principles of Soviet-East European relations by reformist scholars in the Soviet Union, and the response by conservative members of the party apparatus.