The Soviet Union: Gorbachev, perestroika and socialism
The Russian revolution of 1917 was originally conceived as part of a transition to socialism on a global scale. The failure of that strategy led to a far‐reaching debate about the means by which a relatively backward Soviet Russia could advance by itself to a communist future. The Gorbachev years saw the issue addressed in terms of the construction of a ‘humane, democratic socialism’, seen as part of a global process; individual scholars and publicists advanced still further towards a socialism that would embody a multi‐party system and a variety of forms of ownership. Increasingly, however, still more radical commentators identified the origin of Soviet difficulties as Leninism itself. There was, in fact, little popular support for a return to capitalism; but the experience of Soviet rule showed that the authorities in that country needed the political experience of the West as much as they needed its capital investment.
Soviet ideological discourse and Perestroika
. The role played by Soviet ideology during the perestroika reforms has not been fully analyzed because ideology has not been seen as a structural force influencing Soviet political life. This paper charts the effect that this neglect of ideology has had on some explanations of perestroika and seeks to redress the balance. Various ways of dealing with ideology during perestroika are examined and an alternative approach to Soviet ideology (viewing it as a discourse) is developed. This approach to Soviet ideology shows that it was a vital, but unstable, element of the Communist Party's power. The approach is then applied to the Gorbachev reforms to show how ideology played a crucial part in breaking up the power of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1985 onwards.
A Historical Introduction to the Law of Obligations
1 PROLOGUE: THE PREHISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LAW OF OBLIGATIONS 2 STRUCTURAL FOUNDATIONS 3 UNITY AND FRAGMENTATION OF THE MEDIAEVAL LAW OF CONTRACT 4 TRESPASS, TRESPASS ON THE CASE, AND THE MEDIAEVAL LAW OF TORT 5 THE SUBSTANTIVE LAW OF TORTS 6 THE SUBSTANTIVE LAW OF CONTRACT PART 2 THE TRIUMPH OF TRESPASS ON THE CASE 7 TORT, PROPERTY, AND REPUTATION: THE EXPANSION OF THE ACTION ON THE CASE 8 THE RISE OF THE ACTION OF ASSUMPSIT PART 3 THE MODERN LAW OF TORT AND CONTRACT 9 TRESPASS, CASE, AND THE MORAL BASIS OF LIABILITY 10 THE LAW OF TORTS IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY: THE RISE OF THE TORT OF NEGLIGENCE 11 THE LAW OF TORTS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: EXPANSION AND COLLAPSE OF THE TORT OF NEGLIGENCE 12 FOUNDATIONS OF THE MODERN LAW OF CONTRACT 13 THE RISE OF THE WILL THEORY THE WILL THEORY AND THE CLASSICAL MODEL OF CONTRACT 14 THE DECLINE OF THE WILL THEORY: LEGAL REGULATION AND CONTRACTUAL FAIRNESS PART 4 UNJUST ENRICHMENT 15 UNJUST ENRICHMENT 16 LEGAL CHANGE AND LEGAL CONTINUITY