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The miracle of the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe without major war
ushered in a new era--one that calls for changes in behavior and thinking in the West as profound in
some ways as the changes that have swept the former Soviet area.
Credit for the nonviolent end of the Cold War goes first to the leaders of the democratic movements that overthrew communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, often at great risk to themselves and their families. But external factors also played a role. Among these, unofficial human contacts and communications--through travel, citizen exchanges, publishing and broadcasting--may have had as much to do with the peaceful collapse of communism as Western defense policies and wise diplomacy. Without the cumulating effect of thousands and millions of contacts--tangible and intangible--between citizens of East and West over decades, it is doubtful that the democratic movements of the eighties would have grown to the massive size they did.
Indeed, there has hardly been a time when more could be accom-plished by a wholehearted engagement of the West with the people of East Central Europe and the former Soviet Union. The problems they face, whether one speaks of economic reform, nuclear safety, or infant mortality, are urgent and immense. Yet in many ways they are susceptible of solutions that are neither impossibly complex nor very capital-intensive--certainly not in comparison to the know-how, technology, and resources available in a country such as the U.S.
Responsibility for rebuilding their societies rests primarily, of course, with the Russians, Latvians, Uzbeks, Romanians, Ukrainians, et cetera,who will be the primary beneficiaries of a radical reconstruction. But the direction that this reconstruction takes, the speed and cost of its accomplishment, and the attitudes developed in that process toward the community of democracies known as "the West" . . . these all depend in large part on whether we in the West participate in and support the far-reaching reforms taking place in "Eurasia" . . . or turn our backs, having concluded prematurely that "democracy won."
But where do the "habits that freedom forms" get formed? In many places, and not least among them, in voluntary associations. Of course, not all voluntary associations are little laboratories of liberty. But in the ideal cases, they exemplify in their activities important values such as independence and self-reliance, the decentralization of power and responsibility, accountability to supporters, and a reliance on persuasion in order to gain public support. Participation in the work of voluntary associations also trains members in organizational and leadership skills that have application elsewhere, e.g. in government and business.
Unfortunately for the people of the newly independent states, decades of communist rule uprooted not only the organizations of civil society but even their memory. In the metaphor of Solzhenitsyn, totalitarian rule caused a "spinal fracture." In place of the thousands of voluntary organizations that existed pre-1917, mass politicized society became the norm. The only human activities of a group nature that were permitted were those controlled by the Party. Thousands of indigenous social service or advocacy organizations were either destroyed or withered away under repression.
Twisting Solzhenitsyn's metaphor a little, the newly independent states can be compared to stroke victims who have made miraculous recoveries. They are again able to walk, talk and take care of themselves. But they have suffered severe memory loss. Contacts with Western organizations are not required therapy; but they can help to accelerate the growth and restoration of that multitude of independent organizations that constitute an indigenous civil society--and whose historical traces were almost totally erased.
But not enough people know about the variety of work being done, or how they might participate in it. It is unknown to the larger society; much of it is even unknown to those who are themselves active in these projects. Yet the range of work is enormous, and touches nearly every field of human activity or concern: agriculture, public health, law, business, education, environmental protection, etc.
We intend to highlight developments in the NIS and in the U.S. which have significant implications for American private voluntary organizations (PVOs) working there. We will also occasionally take an analytical look at the way American organizations are engaging with the NIS, hoping to stir up a bit of controversy or call attention to points of possible improvement.
Mostly, we will try to be as informative and of as much practical value to readers as possible.
--Holt Ruffin, Editor
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Last updated: March 25 1996
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