Anti-Communism as Ideology
- 1 March 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by University of California Press in Communist and Post-Communist Studies
- Vol. 54 (1-2), 1-23
- https://doi.org/10.1525/j.postcomstud.2021.54.1-2.1
Abstract
The aim of this article is to show with the example of contemporary Poland the ideological function of anti-communism. It explains how “communism” has been constructed and utilized mainly in order to legitimize the political/economic power in the decades of Transition after 1989. The question is not only why anti-communism has been relatively successful in functioning as the hegemonic ideology, but also what its limits are. This article examines the roots of anti-communism with an attempt to find its universal and particular features. The Polish example is helpful to distinguish major, contradictory, ideological explanations operating within its framework: apologetic and contesting.Keywords
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