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A Rational Choice Explanation For Stalin'S “Great Terror”

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  • VAHE LSKAVYAN

Abstract

There is no agreement about the reasons for Stalin's Great Terror of 1937–1939. This paper argues that the problem faced by Stalin was similar to the standard principal–agent problem: the country was run as one enormous firm with Stalin as the only residual claimant. The monetary incentive structure was inadequate and the threat of mass shirking by the agents was real. A simple model of a principal with two agents is developed to address the problem. Assuming that the agents can observe and can reveal each other's shirking, it is shown that, under some assumptions, an equilibrium exists with the following strategy profiles: unless someone's shirking is revealed, the principal is committed to randomly punishing one of the agents with positive probability; an individual agent never shirks and always reveals a co‐worker's shirking. A case study of the period is used to check the plausibility of this hypothesis.

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  • Vahe Lskavyan, 2007. "A Rational Choice Explanation For Stalin'S “Great Terror”," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(2), pages 259-287, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecopol:v:19:y:2007:i:2:p:259-287
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0343.2007.00311.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gregory,Paul R., 2003. "The Political Economy of Stalinism," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521826280.
    2. Gregory,Paul R., 2003. "The Political Economy of Stalinism," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521533676.
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    Cited by:

    1. Kimberly R Frugé, 2019. "Repressive agent defections: How power, costs, and uncertainty influence military behavior and state repression," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 36(6), pages 591-607, November.
    2. Nikolova, Milena & Popova, Olga & Otrachshenko, Vladimir, 2022. "Stalin and the origins of mistrust," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    3. Yuri M. Zhukov, 2013. "An Epidemic Model of Violence and Public Support in Civil War," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 30(1), pages 24-52, February.
    4. Jan Henryk Pierskalla, 2010. "Protest, Deterrence, and Escalation: The Strategic Calculus of Government Repression," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 54(1), pages 117-145, February.
    5. Yuri M. Zhukov, 2014. "Theory of Indiscriminate Violence," Working Paper 365551, Harvard University OpenScholar.

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