ABSTRACT
Theoretical work on the process of agricultural collectivization is in a formative stage. As the collectivization movement unfolded in Eastern Europe, the goal of forming a class-based constituency in the countryside, as suggested by the Collectivization as Class Struggle Model and the goal of consolidating state power represented by the Collectivization as State Formation Model came into direct conflict with each other. Following Soviet precedent, the rhetoric of class struggle dominated pronouncements on the initiation and implementation of collectivization policies in both Poland and Hungary. In Poland and Hungary toleration of decollec-tivization was linked to the need to increase agricultural production. Bulgaria is of particular interest both because it was one of the most rural societies in Eastern Europe and because it was the first nation to achieve full collectivization. Despite the many differences between the societies of Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia, both states were among the leaders in advancing the collectivization movement in Eastern Europe.
