Activists with no portable skills become the most determined brakes on party reform

Evidence

These party activists had few portable skills, having come up through the ranks at a particularly stagnant time in the party. They could not easily transfer to other political or economic spheres. Retaining their position, and the party’s, was tantamount to preserving their livelihood, and so they took full advantage of their new, more powerful role. As a result, these activists braked change and acted as alternative sources of authority. By 1993, conflict emerged between the two layers, with the Central Committee complaining that it gave advice to the passive regional organizations, whose only response to the Central Committee was a number of attempts to evoke confrontation with the party leadership. — Anna M. Grzymala-Busse, Redeeming The Communist Past, 464

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Rank-and-file reform movements could not overcome orthodox regional party machines — Anna M. Grzymala-Busse, Redeeming The Communist Past: The…, 458; Election-centered grassroots mobilization structurally demobilizes activists after winning — Eddie S. Glaude Jr., Democracy in Black: How Race Still…, 617; Experienced orthodox lower-level activists lock out reformers from congress delegations — Anna M. Grzymala-Busse, Redeeming The Communist Past: The…, 465 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Rank-and-file reform movements could not overcome orthodox regional party machines #corroborates (0.75) — Anna M. Grzymala-Busse, Redeeming The Communist Past, 458
• Election-centered grassroots mobilization structurally demobilizes activists after winning #complicates (0.70) — Eddie S. Glaude Jr., Democracy in Black, 617