Democracy Derailed in Russia: The Failure of Open Politics

ISBN-13: 9780521853613 / Angielski / Twarda / 2005 / 336 str.

Berkeley) M. Steven Fish (University of California

Opis

Although Russia experienced dramatic political breakthroughs in the late 1980s and early 1990s after shedding the shackles of Soviet rule, it subsequently failed to continue progressing toward democracy. M. Steven Fish offers an explanation for the direction of regime change in post-Soviet Russia, relying on cross-national comparative analysis as well as on in-depth field research in Russia. Fish demonstrates that Russia's failure to democratize has three causes: too much economic reliance on oil, too little economic liberalization, and too weak a national legislature.

Recenzje

'Interest in Russian politics and society is on the increase in 2006, sparked mainly by concerns about Putin's commitment to democracy (especially in the light of efforts to suppress the independence of NGO's) and the use of Russia's natural resources in the pursuance of foreign policy objectives (brought into focus by the gas price dispute with Ukraine). Democracy Derailed thus makes a very timely contribution to the literature. Fish has produced a highly informative book that will be of use both to readers with a background in post-communist transformation as well as those with a general interest in Russia … its presentation is accessible and includes anecdotes and personal accounts that bring together data with real life experience.' Development and Change

Spis treści

1. Introduction; 2. Some concepts and how they apply to Russia; 3. Symptoms of the failure of democracy; 4. The Russian condition in global perspective; 5. The structural problem: grease and glitter; 6. The policy problem: economic statism; 7. The institutional problem: superpresidentialism; 8. Can democracy get back on track?