The Moore Thesis: What’s Left after 1989?

This paper reconsiders Barrington Moore’s work on the historical emergence of democracy in the light of the democratization of Soviet-type regimes. It evaluates the continuing relevance of his work for understanding the post-1989 phase of European political development, specifically the regime trajectory the state of Central and Eastern Europe, and the successor states of the Soviet Union. Given Moore’s contention of “No bourgeoisie, no democracy,” it tries to make sense of how democracy emerged in a region in which the bourgeoisie had been eliminated. In understanding which states made a successful transition to liberal democracy both the role of civil society during the collapse of communism and the place of the state in the world system provide a comprehensive two stage explanation.