Political Theory and Community Building in Post-Soviet Russia [Paperback]

This book revisits many aspects of current social science theories, such as actor-network theory and the French school of science and technology studies, to test how the theories apply in a specific situation, in this case after 1991 in the city of Cherepovets in Russia, home of Russias second biggest steel producer, Severstal. Using political philosophy to analyse the down-to-earth details of the real techno-scientific problems facing the world, the book examines the role of things - and urban infrastructure in particular - in political change. It considers how the citys infrastructure, including housing, ICT networks, the provision of public utilities of all kinds, has been transformed in recent years; examines the roles of different actors including the municipal authorities, and explores citizens differing and sometimes contradictory images of their city. It includes a great deal of new thinking on how communities are built, how common action is initiated to provide public goods, and how the goods themselves - physical things  are a crucial driver of community action and community building, arguably more so than more abstract social and human forces.

List of Contributors  Glossary of Terms Acknowledgements  Introduction: The Theory of Res Publicaand Contemporary Russia: How Do Things Matter Together with Publics? - Oleg Kharkhordin  Part I: Links with Conventional Theories  1. Goods, Res Publica, Actor-Networks, and Collective Action - Risto Alapuro  2. Categories of Goods in Economics and Public Choice Literature as Applied to Heat and Water Utilities - Olga Bychkova  Part II: Case Studies  3. Things and People in the Housing and Utility Sector Reform in Russia, 1991-2006 - Olga Bychkova and Evgeniia Popova  4. CommolÓÆ