Democracy Derailed in Russia The Failure of Open Politics [Hardcover]

Democracy has not worked in Russia; Democracy Derailed in Russia explains why.Democracy has not worked in Russia; Democracy Derailed in Russia explains why. Many authors have claimed that Russian history and culture or rapid economic reform have undermined democracy. In this book, M. Steven Fish shows that such arguments are mistaken. By comparing Russia systematically with other countries, Fish demonstrates that Russia's reliance on oil exports, its tepid and unsure economic reforms, and its underpowered legislature are actually to blame for Russia's failure to consolidate democratic political regime.Democracy has not worked in Russia; Democracy Derailed in Russia explains why. Many authors have claimed that Russian history and culture or rapid economic reform have undermined democracy. In this book, M. Steven Fish shows that such arguments are mistaken. By comparing Russia systematically with other countries, Fish demonstrates that Russia's reliance on oil exports, its tepid and unsure economic reforms, and its underpowered legislature are actually to blame for Russia's failure to consolidate democratic political regime.Although Russia experienced dramatic political breakthroughs in the late 1980s and early 1990s after shedding the shackles of Soviet rule, it subsequently failed to continue progressing toward democracy. M. Steven Fish offers an explanation for the direction of regime change in post-Soviet Russia, relying on cross-national comparative analysis as well as on in-depth field research in Russia. Fish demonstrates that Russia's failure to democratize has three causes: too much economic reliance on oil, too little economic liberalization, and too weak a national legislature.1. Introduction; 2. Some concepts and how they apply to Russia; 3. Symptoms of the failure of democracy; 4. The Russian condition in global perspective; 5. The structural problem: grease and glitter; 6. The policy problem: economic statism; 7. The institutional problem: superprel“„