Presentations by Streams

Comparing the supreme state assemblies in the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia, this panel explores the designs and functions of parliaments in socialist federations. The Soviet and Czechoslovak ruling communist parties embraced a universalist approach to modernity by introducing “parliaments” rather than unique socialist institutions. Initially, this was also the case in Yugoslavia, but in 1974, the Communist leadership introduced a new, complex system of representation that significantly differed from both the liberal template of a parliament and the vernacular versions of the institution in other socialist states. Despite these different designs, the functions of the three socialist federal assemblies were largely similar and predominantly focused on propagandistic and symbolic objectives. These objectives included descriptive representation of different national and social groups and the integration of a single political community in a top-down manner.