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

by Sperling,Valerie

• ISBN13: 9780813338057
• ISBN10: 0813338050
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2000-05-11
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Has the Russian state managed to lay the institutional groundwork for long-term stability and democratic governance? InBuilding the Russian State, Valerie Sperling assembles 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.

Author Biography

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

List of Tables and Figures	vii
Preface	ix
List of Contributors	xi
Introduction: The Domestic and International Obstacles to State-Building in Russia	1	(26)
Valerie Sperling
Part I The Elite: Ruling in Whose Interests?
The ``Use and Abuse'' of Russia's Energy Resources: Implications for State-Society Relations	27	(19)
Pauline Jones Luong
Do the People Rule? The Use of Referenda in Russia	46	(21)
Mark Clarence Walker
The Divided Russian Elite: How Russia's Transition Produced a Counter-Elite	67	(24)
Virginie Coulloudon
Part II The State: Weak Institutions and Crumbling Capacity
Is the Russian State Coping with Organized Crime and Corruption?	91	(22)
Louise Shelly
State Dysfunctionality, Institutional Decay, and the Russian Military	113	(24)
Eva Busza
Is the Center Too Weak or Too Strong in the Russian Federation?	137
Steven L. Solnick