This book focuses on the Western difficulties in interpreting Russia. It begins with by reflecting on some of the problems that are set in the foundations of Russia's post-Cold War relationship with ...the West. The book points to problems that emerge from linguistic and historical 'interpretation'. It looks at the impact of Russia's decline as a political priority for the West since the end of the Cold War and the practical impact this has had. It then reflects on the rising influence, especially, but not only, in public policy and media circles, of 'transitionology' as the main lens through which developments in Russia were interpreted. The book then examines the evolution of the West's relationship with Russia since the end of the Cold War, focusing particularly on the NATO-Russia relationship. It focuses on the chronological development of relations and the emergence of strategic dissonance from 2003. The book also looks at Russian domestic politics, particularly the Western belief in and search for a particular kind of change in Russia, a transition to democracy. It continues the exploration of domestic politics, but turns to address the theme of 'Putinology', the focus on Putin as the central figure in Russian politics.
Based on the 2017 conference "'New Reality' and Russian Markets" held at Harvard University, this book brings together world-renowned thinkers to offer the latest empirical research on recent ...financial risks, institutional policies, and financial stability.
India has one of the fastest growing economies on earth. Over the past three decades, socialism has been replaced by pro-business policies as the way forward. And yet, in this 'new' India, grinding ...poverty is still a feature of everyday life. Some 450 million people subsist on less than $1.25 per day and nearly half of India's children are malnourished. In his latest book, Atul Kohli, a seasoned scholar of Indian politics and economics, blames this discrepancy on the narrow nature of the ruling alliance in India that, in its new-found relationship with business, has prioritized economic growth above all other social and political considerations. This thoughtful and challenging book affords an alternative vision of India's rise in the world that its democratic rulers will be forced to come to grips with in the years ahead.
This book provides a comprehensive overview of Russia's difficult economic transition from a command economy since the early 1990s. It covers the financial crisis of August 1998 and the global ...financial crisis a decade later. Key subjects covered include economic transition, privatization and liberalization; changes in land ownership and agriculture; energy; foreign direct investment; economic stabilization; and economic performance. Russia is well endowed with raw materials, especially oil and natural gas; this book argues that in some ways this has not helped Russia's attempts to become a more diversified and high-tech economy.
Overall, the book demonstrates how much the Russian economy has changed in the period. It continues - and adds to - the overview of developments in the author's The New Russia (2002), and is the companion volume to Political Developments in Contemporary Russia (2011) - both published by Routledge.
In many autocracies, regime leaders share power with a ruling party, which can help generate popular support and reduce conflict among key elites. Such ruling parties are often called dominant ...parties. In other regimes, leaders prefer to rule solely through some combination of charisma, patronage, and coercion, rather than sharing power with a dominant party. This book explains why dominant parties emerge in some nondemocratic regimes, but not in others. It offers a novel theory of dominant party emergence that centers on the balance of power between rulers and other elites. Drawing on extensive fieldwork in Russia, original data on Russian political elites, and cross-national statistical analysis, the book's findings shed new light on how modern autocracies work and why they break down. The book also provides new insights about the foundations of Vladimir Putin's regime and challenges several myths about the personalization of power under Putin.
This book examines the causal impact of ideology through a comparative-historical analysis of three cases of 'post-imperial democracy': the early Third Republic in France (1870–86); the Weimar ...Republic in Germany (1918–34); and post-Soviet Russia (1992–2008). Hanson argues that political ideologies are typically necessary for the mobilization of enduring, independent national party organizations in uncertain democracies. By presenting an explicit and desirable picture of the political future, successful ideologues induce individuals to embrace a long-run strategy of cooperation with other converts. When enough new converts cooperate in this way, it enables sustained collective action to defend and extend party power. Successful party ideologies thus have the character of self-fulfilling prophecies: by portraying the future polity as one organized to serve the interests of those loyal to specific ideological principles, they help to bring political organizations centered on these principles into being.
This book argues that Putin's strategy for rebuilding the state was fundamentally flawed. Taylor demonstrates that a disregard for the way state officials behave toward citizens - state quality - had ...a negative impact on what the state could do - state capacity. Focusing on those organizations that control state coercion, what Russians call the 'power ministries', Taylor shows that many of the weaknesses of the Russian state that existed under Boris Yeltsin persisted under Putin. Drawing on extensive field research and interviews, as well as a wide range of comparative data, the book reveals the practices and norms that guide the behavior of Russian power ministry officials (the so-called siloviki), especially law enforcement personnel. By examining siloviki behavior from the Kremlin down to the street level, State Building in Putin's Russia uncovers the who, where and how of Russian state building after communism.
The book establishes marriage as a pervasive idiom for the construction of collective identity in Syria, which is appropriated by individuals, sects, states and intergovernmental organizations alike. ...Its conclusions are relevant to scholars of Middle East studies, sectarianism, anthropology and politics.”
The Baltic States Lane, Thomas
2013, 2002, 20131105, 2013-11-05, 20020101
eBook
Since the end of the Cold War there has been an increased interest in the Baltics. The Baltic States brings together three titles, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, to provide a comprehensive and ...analytical guide integrating history, political science, economic development and contemporary events into one account. Since gaining their independence, each country has developed at its own pace with its own agenda and facing its own obstacles. The authors examine the tensions accompanying a post-communist return to Europe after the long years of separation and how each country has responded to the demands of becoming a modern European state. Estonia was the first of the former Soviet republics to enter membership negotiations with the European Union in 1988 and is a potential candidate for the next round of EU expansion in 2004. Lithuania and Latvia have also expressed their desire for future membership of NATO and the EU.
Part 1: Estonia 1. 'One Day There Will Be an Estonian State.' 2. The Long Second World War: Estonia under Occupation 1940-1991 3. Old Wine in New Bottles: The Politics of Independence 4. 'The Little Country that Could.': Estonia's Economic Return to Europe 5. 'The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.': Foreign Policy Between East and West Part 2: Latvia 6. A Historical Introduction to Modern Latvia 7. Latvia's Politics, 1987-1991: The Thorny Road Towards Independence 8. Latvia's Democracy Examined: 1991-1999 9. Latvia's Economy since 1991 10. The Foreign Policy of Latvia 11. Conclusions Part 3: Lithuania, Revival and Repression 1914-1985 12. Independent Lithuania between Wars 13. Sovietization 1940-1985 Part 4: Lithuania, Independence and the Politics of Transition 1985 - 1999 14. The Achievement of Independence 1985-1991 15. Government and Politics in Independent Lithuania 16. The Lithuanian Economy after Independence 17. Lithuania's Foreign and National Security Policy
David J. Smith is a lecturer in Contemporary History and International Relations and a member of the Baltic Research Unit at the Department of European Studies, University of Bradford, UK. Artis Pabriks is a lecturer at the University of Latvia and Vidzeme University College, Latvia and a frequent political analyst for Latvia's mass media. Aldis Purs is a lecturer at Vidzeme University College, Latvia, having previously compteted a Research Fellowship at the Woddorwo Wilson Centre for International Studies, USA. Thomas Lane is a lecturer in European history and a member of the Baltic Research Unit at the Department of European Studies, University of Bradford, UK.
The struggle between Russia and Great Britain over Central Asia in the nineteenth century was the original “great game”. For the British, control over the region protected their vital possessions in ...the subcontinent. For an expanding Russian Empire, Central Asia represented the next step in their evolution as a great power. In the past quarter century, a new “great game” has emerged. Not only is the region enmeshed in America's global war on terror, it sits between a newly aggressive Russia and resource-hungry China and alongside one of the volatile areas in the world. This book explores the dynamics of the new competition for influence over the region since 9/11. All three great powers have crafted strategies to build their influence the region, which includes Afghanistan and the former Soviet republics of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. All three are pursuing important goals: basing rights for the U.S., access to natural resources for the Chinese, and increased political influence for the Russians. However, overlooked in all of the talk about this new great game is fact that the Central Asian governments have proven themselves critical agents in their own right, establishing local rules for external power involvement that serve to fend off external pressures and bolster their sovereign authority.
