2014/10/21 by Alexander Statiev · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #The Impact of Diversity and Innovation on Society #Historical Geopolitical and Social Dynamics #Nuclear Issues and Defense #Victory #Coercion (linguistics) #Communism #Adversary #Passions #Political science #Political economy #State (computer science) #Witch #Politics #Law #Development economics #Sociology #Philosophy #Economics #Computer security
paper · doi:10.1080/09668136.2014.957928
openalex publication_date 2014/10/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2025/11/06
Applying the ‘victory at all costs’ principle adopted during World War II, partisans—the long arm of the Soviet regime in the occupied territories—pressured civilians to resist the enemy. The thinking behind most of their coercive policies seemed rational within the framework of this concept; however, the passions produced by merciless fighting, communist dogma, Stalinist culture with its habitual witch-hunts, and the belief in collective guilt frequently escalated coercion far beyond rational limits. Partisans increased the polarisation of civilian society between supporters and enemies of the Soviet state, killing thousands of bystanders in the process.