Triggering Communism's Collapse ─ Perceptions and Power in Poland's Transition

At a time when Poland's economy was deteriorating, the workers were striking, and the Soviets were vacillating, both the Polish communist regime and the Solidarity-led opposition formulated certain expectations and acted upon them. Both sides' expectations soon turned out to be mistaken, but the resulting choices shaped the course of events in surprising ways. Through elite interviews and archival records, Marjorie Castle shows how mistaken expectations resulted in a sudden transfer of power away from the communist elite and created a new political arena full of surprises. Drastic changes in the capabilities of key political actors radically altered the implications of negotiated rules. Yet these rules went on to change the political landscape itself.

Marjorie Castle is visiting professor of political science at Tulane University.