In Search of Pluralism: Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics

ISBN-13: 9780367009045 / Angielski / Twarda / 2019 / 184 str.

Saivetz, Carol R.

Opis

Building innovatively on Western social-science theory and on older models of Soviet politics, the authors review recent changes in the former USSR in order to assess the prospects there for democratic pluralism. Chapters focus on the first competitive elections, the new legislative bodies at state and local levels, and the newly freed press, exploring the extent to which these institutions can be described as democratic or pluralistic. Other chapters trace the complex linkages between a plurality of political-economic interests—explaining why Russian labor, government, and business may be moving toward a corporatist coalition and how political activists' sharply divergent attitudes toward the state and property keep them from forming a broad-based party. Although it is difficult in this period of dramatic flux to predict the future, these thought-provoking analyses will provide a deeper understanding of the transformations under way and will stimulate further exploration.

Spis treści

Introduction -- Pluralism, Civil Society, and Post-Soviet Politics -- Pluralism and the New Press in Russia -- Pluralism and Politics in an Urban Soviet: Donetsk, 1990–1991 -- How Democratic Are Local Russian Deputies? -- Prospects for Political Pluralism in Central Asia -- Pluralism Versus Corporatism: Government, Labor, and Business in the Russian Federation -- State, Property, and Political Society in Postcommunist Russia: In Search of a Political Center -- Conclusion: Today’s Russia, Pluralism, and Social Science Theory