This theoretically sophisticated and empirically rich new book focuses on workers, liberal intellectuals, and the prospects of post-communist democracy. David Ost long ago established himself as a truly original thinker on labor politics in Eastern Europe. His argument that the mobilization of anger along class lines-as opposed to ethnic or religious lines-is the best way to secure liberal democracy will ... Read moreprovoke intense discussion in the field for years to come.
Bela Greskovits, Central European University The relationship between labor and democracy is very important but often insufficiently examined and understood, as David Ost shows. In The Defeat of Solidarity, which is based on his detailed knowledge of the Polish case, he also argues that class should be brought back to the forefront of political analysis.
Jan Kubik, Rutgers University The Defeat of Solidarity is a vigorous plea for bringing labor back into the study of post-communist politics. Well documented and based exclusively on the 'special' case of Poland, this book by David Ost nevertheless raises crucial issues affecting all of Eastern Central Europe. The stark contrast he draws between the politics of class interest and alien identity-as alternative means for-congealing anger' in the course of democratization may not convince everyone, but it does make an original and provocative contribution to the literature.
Philippe C. Schmitter, European University Institute Ost's book is personal, the result of repeated visits to Polish factories and mines, real knowledge of Polish mental habits, and familiarity with the abundant Polish sociological literature. It is also the work of a man who once saw Solidarity as a possible inspiration for the Western Left, and who has now come to see it rather as a cautionary tale of globalization. Indeed, the argument seems relevant in an American context, where the conservative voting of patriotic workers is a cause of distress on the Left, and perhaps dangerous to democracy.
Timothy Snyder
Times Literary Supplement
Ost goes against the grain, insisting that class is still a useful, indeed vital, sociopolitical category and that the working class, although usually among the losers in the transition from socialism to capitalism, remains a necessary impetus, not an obstacle, to democracy.
Foreign Affairs
David Ost draws upon his thorough research to make many important points. The Defeat of Solidarity will be of interest not only to those who study Poland (and other former Communist countries) but also to those who study social movements and the political role of blue-collar workers.
Mark Kramer, Harvard University Show Less