ABSTRACT
Apply theories of colonialization to the collapse of the Soviet external and internal empires and compare post-Communist modernization in the countries of both former empires. A weakness of Soviet studies has been our lack of empathie understanding of the linkages between economics and politics in the behavior of individuals, groups, and organizations at the national, republican, and local levels. Sovietologists who stressed the “uniqueness” of the USSR lacked background in social science theory, philosophy of science, and comparative politics. A familiar but interesting feature of perestroika was that Soviet academics provided many of the theoretical parameters of policy debates. Analyze the rejection of reform communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union in light of current organization, communication, and role theories, and consider how data from the experience of the former Soviet bloc might alter those bodies of theory. Sovietologists should more than ever try to benefit from and contribute to the social sciences.
