Synopses & Reviews
This collection of essays is derived from a conference convened at Princeton University marking the ten-year anniversary of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Some of the best minds in post-Soviet studies focused on the task of identifying how the post-communist experience with transition has confirmed or confounded conventional theories of political and economic development. The result is a rich array of writings examining vital aspects of the transitional decade following the Soviet collapse and the comparative lessons learned.
Review
"Michael McFaul and Kathryn Stoner-Weiss have edited a stimulating volume in which leading political scientists working on the former Soviet Union demonstrate the utilit of a sophisticated combination of post-Communist area expertise and comparative social science methods. Although the editors describe the book as a 'sampler' of cutting-edge work by top researchers, the volume in fact coheres very nicely around two central themes: state building and regime transition." Political Science Quarterly, Henry E. Hale, George Washington University
Review
"As a concise and stimulating overview of the theoretical opportunities opened up by the collapse of Communism...this book succeeds admirably." - The Russian Review, Conor O'Dwyer, University of Florida
Review
"Exceptionally rich collection of essays...this volume embodies political science research at its best, both theoretically and methodologically aware, and sensitive to the cases and their problems." The Slavic Review Neil Robinson, University of Limerick, Ireland
Synopsis
A response to the ten-year anniversary of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Table of Contents
Contributors; Introduction: the evolving social science of post Communism Michael McFaul and Kathryn Stoner-Weiss; 1. The triumph of Nation-States: lessons from the collapse of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia Philip Roeder; 2. The fourth wave of democracy and dictatorship: noncooperative transitions in the post-Communist world Michael McFaul; 3. Circumstances versus policy choices: why has the economic performance of the Soviet successive states been so poor? Vladimir Popov; 4. Whither the Central State? The regional sources of Russia's stalled reforms Kathryn Stoner-Weiss; 5. Parties, citizens, and the prospects for democratic consolidation in Russia Timothy Colton; 6. Comparative democratization: lessons from Russia and the post-Communist World Valerie Bunce; 7. Russians as joiners: realist and liberal conceptions of post-Communist Europe James M. Goldgeier and Michael McFaul; Index.