In 1989, Soviet control over Eastern Europe ended when the
communist regimes of the Warsaw Pact collapsed. These momentous
and largely bloodless events set the stage for the end of the
Cold War and ushered in a new era in international politics. Why
did communism collapse relatively peacefully in Eastern Europe?
Why did these changes occur in 1989, after more than four
decades of communist rule? Why did this upheaval happen almost
simultaneously in most of the Warsaw Pact? In Comrades No More,
Renee de Nevers examines how internal and external factors
interacted in the collapse of East European communism. She
argues that Gorbachev's reforms in the Soviet Union were
necessary to start the process of political change in Eastern
Europe, but domestic factors in each communist state determined
when and how each country abandoned communism. A "demonstration
effect" emerged as Hungary and Poland introduced reforms and
showed that Moscow would not intervene to prevent political and
economic changes. De Nevers analyze