Comparing Communisms: Perspectives from Southeast Europe
In comparative studies on Communist systems in Eastern Europe, case studies from Southeast Europe (SEE) (Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia) play usually only a marginal role. Comparative models are mostly based on the Soviet model and case studies from East Central Europe. Moreover, East Central European communist studies are far more interrelated than research on Southeast European cases. There has almost never been an attempt for an in-depth comparison of SEE communisms in an approach that goes beyond an additive perspective on national case studies. The conference aims at constructing a frame of communication for bridging this gap and at raising the visibility of SEE perspectives in the frame of comparative Communist studies. It constitutes the beginning of a new research debate by trying to structure a highly complex field of research.