Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Post-Communist Era'

This thesis aims to analyse the effect of hydrocarbons on Russian foreign policy in the post-communist period. In doing so it employs a constructivist meta-theory (actorstructure framework) and Susan Strange's approach to international political economy (IPE). The role of hydrocarbons in both the international political economy and Russia's domestic political economy is analysed. Thereafter a historical narrative outlining the affect of hydrocarbons on foreign policy from 1991-2008 is offered. There is also a brief focus on the role of Gazprom in Russian foreign policy. It is found that hydrocarbons affected Russian foreign policy through the impact they had on the state's ability to control the domestic political economy (which was diminished in the 1991-1999 period, but strengthened as international oil prices rose thereafter). Hydrocarbons, though a source of power, are also found to tie the Russian state to the interdependent international political economy of the globalised era. The analysis finds that the case supports the constructivist emphasis on the importance of understanding domestic issues when addressing the foreign policies of states. It also finds that the approaches used, Wendt's constructivism and Strange's IPE theory, work well in conjunction to illuminate foreign policy issues. A criticism of Strange's approach, however, is highlighted. She fails to give adequate attention to matters of geography in her model. This, it is argued, would be a fruitful endeavour for future IPE analysis, especially if addressed through the case of hydrocarbons in the IPE.

The dynamics of the Albanian market in lieu of the multifaceted transformations following the collapse of the communist regime and moving towards the accession processes in the European Union as well as the demographics of the Albanian society as a whole, deeply impact the ways in which home furniture products are designed, development and produced. This study is interested in exploring the development of the home furniture product design in Albania and its transformation from communism to post-communism and free market economy. Furthermore, the study looks into ‘Do-it-yourself’ (D-I-Y) product design as an emerging pattern in home furniture in Albania responding to both the consumers’ needs as well as global trends. This constitutes an under researched area in Albanian scholarship. First, a thorough and systematic study on the furniture design process and development in communism has not been conducted earlier. Second, a comparative framework of furniture design between two different main time period, i.e. communism and free market economy, has been missing in Albania. Third, studies on the ‘D-I-Y’ market in Albania has also been scarce. ‘D-I-Y’ market is recently established and currently attempting to catch-up with the regional and international advancements and respond to the Albanian customers’ needs, interests and demands. The central aim of the study is to explore in what ways and to what extent the home furniture design and development process has been transformed from communism to post-communism and free market economy by exploring dynamics of the political and socio-economic context. The cutting point for the analysis here is the early 1990s that represent major social, political, cultural and economic changes in Albania towards democratization. The chronological analysis is divided into three main segments: from 1950s to 1990s; from 1990s to 2010s and after 2010s. This doctoral study puts forward the hypothesis that: the impact of moving from mass production in a centralized economy to free mass customisation in market economy has not radically transformed the fundamental properties of home furniture but has affected the design, development, delivery and materiality of products. This is done through a qualitative research approach, which is flexible, inductive and exploratory. A single case study is analysed and archival research, interviews and systematic observations are the key data collection methods. The main merit in this case is that it allows for an in-depth analysis of the case study and provide data, insights and conclusions for a topic that has received almost no scientific attention before. The added value of this doctoral study lies in the historical analysis of furniture design process and products and the interrelated factors such as socio-economy, political and cultural. In addition, this doctoral study has produced an original database of furniture design from 1945 to 1990 as well as an original database of D-I-Y furniture designs after the first decade of post-communism. These databases could be used by academic for further studies. Also they could be used by business to bring back original furniture designs in the market, but also by the government.<br>The dynamics of the Albanian market in lieu of the multifaceted transformations following the collapse of the communist regime and moving towards the accession processes in the European Union as well as the demographics of the Albanian society as a whole, deeply impact the ways in which home furniture products are designed, development and produced. This study is interested in exploring the development of the home furniture product design in Albania and its transformation from communism to post-communism and free market economy. Furthermore, the study looks into ‘Do-it-yourself’ (D-I-Y) product design as an emerging pattern in home furniture in Albania responding to both the consumers’ needs as well as global trends. This constitutes an under researched area in Albanian scholarship. First, a thorough and systematic study on the furniture design process and development in communism has not been conducted earlier. Second, a comparative framework of furniture design between two different main time period, i.e. communism and free market economy, has been missing in Albania. Third, studies on the ‘D-I-Y’ market in Albania has also been scarce. ‘D-I-Y’ market is recently established and currently attempting to catch-up with the regional and international advancements and respond to the Albanian customers’ needs, interests and demands. The central aim of the study is to explore in what ways and to what extent the home furniture design and development process has been transformed from communism to post-communism and free market economy by exploring dynamics of the political and socio-economic context. The cutting point for the analysis here is the early 1990s that represent major social, political, cultural and economic changes in Albania towards democratization. The chronological analysis is divided into three main segments: from 1950s to 1990s; from 1990s to 2010s and after 2010s. This doctoral study puts forward the hypothesis that: the impact of moving from mass production in a centralized economy to free mass customisation in market economy has not radically transformed the fundamental properties of home furniture but has affected the design, development, delivery and materiality of products. This is done through a qualitative research approach, which is flexible, inductive and exploratory. A single case study is analysed and archival research, interviews and systematic observations are the key data collection methods. The main merit in this case is that it allows for an in-depth analysis of the case study and provide data, insights and conclusions for a topic that has received almost no scientific attention before. The added value of this doctoral study lies in the historical analysis of furniture design process and products and the interrelated factors such as socio-economy, political and cultural. In addition, this doctoral study has produced an original database of furniture design from 1945 to 1990 as well as an original database of D-I-Y furniture designs after the first decade of post-communism. These databases could be used by academic for further studies. Also they could be used by business to bring back original furniture designs in the market, but also by the government.

By engaging with ‘realism’ in the context of Socialist Realism in Bulgaria, a notion that inhabits the space in between fine art, ideology and art history, this practice-based research offers new insight into the examination of continuities between fine art during Communism and post-Communism, exploring the relationship between the abstract and the figurative and their functioning both within, and exceeding, the pictorial space of painting. The two main research questions that inform the studio work and underpin this study have been: How can art practice explore the official representations of Socialist Realism in post-Communist Bulgaria in the axis between photography and painting? How can this process affect an understanding of the relationship between abstract and figurative painting within the context of ‘realism’ of Socialist Realism and contemporary fine art in the country? By focusing on these research questions, this study conceptualises the relationship between the abstract and the figurative in the context of Socialist Realism in fine art in Bulgaria and its official representations after the collapse of the Communist regime. This relationship marked one of the central oppositions in fine art during the Communist era in the country, often constituting a dividing line between what was considered ‘acceptable’ and ‘unacceptable’ art. This study is concerned with the differences in the definitions of ‘realism’ within Socialist Realism in Bulgaria over the years, differences which may be considered as ruptures in its development. Yet it acknowledges these differences within the framework imposed by the Communist ideology. The latter remained unchangeable, yet had a determining impact on the development of fine art throughout the Communist period. Furthermore, the study explores how fragments of this framework are transferred into the post-Communist period, and how they function in state-funded institutional representations of Socialist Realist works and in examples of former ‘official’ artists’ works, as well as in the readings of Socialist Realism after the fall of the Communist regime, readings which fluctuate between the oppositions of ‘official or unofficial’ art, praise or disavowal of Socialist Realism. In order to explore both the ruptures and the continuities, the research looks at Socialist Realism and its specificities in Bulgaria in relation to Socialist Realism in fine art in the Soviet Union and other post-Communist countries in Eastern Europe. The relationship between the abstract and the figurative is situated within this context and explored through a series of transformations of photographic sources into paintings. These transformations are performed by my practice, engaging with the photographic sources’ production, dissemination and display in relation to ‘realism’ in Socialist Realism.

Thesis (M.A. (Political Science)) -- University of Limpopo, 2014<br>The study was about the South African Communist Party (SACP) and its entry into SA politics after 1990. The main question is whether it should contest elections independently of its Tripartite alliance partners led by ANC in democratic SA. As a democratic country it allows any party to participate in the elections. Given that space SACP can contest and triumph electorally thus assume the reins of government. For SA to become socialist, SACP has to campaign and triumph electorally for this to happen. The study followed a qualitative research paradigm. Purposeful sampling was used to collect data through in-depth interviews with information-rich respondents who have specialist knowledge about the study. Interviews and document analysis were used for data collection. For this reason, open-ended questions in the form of an interview guide were used to solicit information, perceptions and attitudes towards and about SACP. A tape recorder was used to capture information from these interviews. The recorded data was transcribed and coded into themes one by one which in turn formed part of the research portfolio. From the study findings contemporary SACP is a product of the revisionism that has come to characterise the post-Cold War. It is not surprising why the party then is not ready to contest election alone.