Building The Russian State: Institutional Crisis And The Quest For Democratic Governance / Edition 1

by Valerie Sperling

Overview

Has the Russian state managed to lay the institutional groundwork for long-term stability and democratic governance? In Building the Russian State , Valerie Sperling assemblies a group of cutting-edge scholars to critically assess the crises in Russia's transitional institutions. Part I of the book shows that Russia's political elites are less focused on serving public interests than on enriching themselves, and examines how these elites are ruling Russia. Part II focuses on the growth of organized crime, the decay of the military, the precariousness of the Russian Federation, the weakness of the labor movement, the corruption of the courts, the challenges facing international reformers, and the authoritarianism of the super-presidential political system. By focusing on the challenges, failures, and occasional successes of the Russian political system, this volume offers upper-level undergraduates and other scholars valuable insight into post-Soviet politics, state-building, and transitions to democracy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813338057
Publisher:	Westview Press
Publication date:	05/11/2000
Series:	John M. Olin Critical Issues Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	260
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)
Lexile:	1660L (what's this?)

About the Author

Valerie Sperling is an assistant professor of government and international relations at Clark University, and she is an Associate at the Davis Center for Russian Studies, Harvard University.

Table of Contents

Preface — Introduction: The Domestic and International Obstacles to State-Building in Russia — The Elite: Ruling in Whose Interests? — The "Use and Abuse" of Russia's Energy Resources: Implications for State-Society Relations — Do the People Rule? The Use of Referenda in Russia — The Divided Russian Elite: How Russia's Transition Produced a Counter-Elite — The State: Weak Institutions and Crumbling Capacity — Is the Russian State Coping with Organized Crime and Corruption? — State Dysfunctionality, Institutional Decay, and the Russian Military — Is the Center Too Weak or Too Strong in the Russian Federation? — Liberal Transformation: Labor and the Russian State — The Executive Deception: Superpresidentialism and the Degradation of Russian Politics — Russian Courts: Enforcing the Rule of Law? — Stability from Without? International Donors and “Good Governance” Strategies in Russia*