Democracy Derailed in Russia: The Failure of Open Politics (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics)

Why has democracy failed to take root in Russia? After shedding the shackles of Soviet rule, some countries in the postcommunist region undertook lasting democratization. Yet Russia did not. Russia experienced dramatic political breakthroughs in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but it subsequently failed to maintain progress toward democracy. In this 2005 book, 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 shows 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. Fish's explanation challenges others that have attributed Russia's political travails to history, political culture, or to 'shock therapy' in economic policy. The book offers a theoretically original and empirically rigorous explanation for one of the most pressing political problems of our time. Half-title......Page 3 Series-title......Page 4 Title......Page 6 Copyright......Page 7 Dedication......Page 8 Contents......Page 10 Figures......Page 12 Tables......Page 13 Acknowledgments......Page 16 Abbreviations......Page 18 The Study and Its Arguments in Context......Page 20 Method and Logic of Causal Inference......Page 25 Overview of the Book......Page 32 A Definition of Democracy......Page 34 Measuring Political Openness......Page 39 Rating Russia’s Regime......Page 42 3 Symptoms of the Failure of Democracy......Page 49 Problems and Logics of Detection......Page 50 Funny Numbers......Page 52 Spectacles of Mischief and Failures of Monitoring......Page 60 Does Falsification Really Matter?......Page 71 Soft Coercion and Abuse of “Administrative Resources”......Page 73 Hard Coercion......Page 79 Arbitrary Exclusion from Electoral Participation......Page 80 Restrictions on Communication......Page 86 Limitations on Association......Page 94 Coda: The 2003–2004 Elections......Page 96 Summary......Page 100 4 The Russian Condition in Global Perspective......Page 101 Hypotheses......Page 102 Analysis......Page 107 The Irrelevance of What Russia Is Not: Islamic Tradition and British Colonial Heritage......Page 111 The Insignificance of Autocracy, Orthodoxy, and Nationality......Page 113 Socioeconomic Conditions: The Myth of Russian Destitution......Page 117 Excursus: Life Expectancy in Russia......Page 124 Mass Attitudes: (Dis)trust, (In)tolerance, and Orientation Toward Political Regime......Page 127 Summary......Page 131 5 The Structural Problem......Page 133 Does Resource Abundance Undermine Democracy? Empirical Evidence......Page 134 The Rentier Effect......Page 137 The Repression Effect......Page 141 The Modernization Effect......Page 142 The Corruption Effect......Page 146 The Economic Policy Effect......Page 153 Summary......Page 156 6 The Policy Problem......Page 158 The Great Debate over Market and Political Regime......Page 159 Empirical Evidence......Page 161 The Danger of Regional Specificity......Page 163 Potential Problems of Measurement......Page 166 The Logic of the Case for Gradualism......Page 169 The Logic of the Case for Shock Therapy......Page 175 The Cross-National Picture: Where Russia Fits In......Page 177 Economic Policy Reform: The Macroenvironment......Page 179 The View from Below: The Microenvironment......Page 188 Why the Myth of Shock Therapy?......Page 191 The Weakness of Organized Opposition and Civil Society......Page 195 The Tenuousness of the Socioeconomic Basis for Civil Society......Page 199 Excursus: Does Civil Society Matter for Open Politics?......Page 202 The State’s Leverage over Societal Organizations......Page 206 Summary......Page 211 7 The Institutional Problem......Page 212 Overview of Constitutional Types and Their Merits......Page 213 Classification of Postcommunist Political Systems......Page 215 A Preliminary Empirical Probe......Page 216 The Centrality of Parliamentary Power......Page 217 Some Criteria of Parliamentary Power in Light of Duverger’s Conception......Page 218 Assessing the Status of Legislatures: The Parliamentary Powers Index......Page 220 The Legislature’s Powers in Russia......Page 222 Parliamentary Powers, Semipresidentialism, and Democracy......Page 224 The Roots of Constitutional Choice......Page 229 Constitutional Choice in Russia......Page 235 Constitutional Choice as a Determinant of Political Regime......Page 239 Tenuous Regime Legitimacy......Page 243 Listless Political Parties......Page 245 Amateurish Politicians......Page 249 Frail State Agencies......Page 256 Unbridled Corruption......Page 260 What About Culture and Tradition?......Page 262 What About the Legislature’s Foibles?......Page 263 8 Can Democracy Get Back on Track?......Page 265 Synopsis of the Explanation......Page 266 What Kind of Explanation Is This?......Page 271 The Explanation’s Limitations......Page 273 How Will We Know If This Explanation Is Faulty?......Page 276 Natural Resources: The Curse Endures......Page 277 Economic Policy: Liberal Principles Versus Statist Interests......Page 280 The Power of the Legislature: The Institutionalization of Incapacity......Page 285 A Final Word......Page 289 References......Page 292 Index......Page 322

Democracy has not worked in Russia; Democracy Derailed in Russia explains why.

Foreign Affairs

Fish argues that the time has come to explain why Russia has not made it to democracy — why it is in fact wobbling uncertainly in the opposite direction. Rather than rely on impressions, no matter how well grounded historically or experientially, he attempts to unravel the mystery by using statistical studies of many countries (in particular, postcommunist ones) to identify what accounts for Russia's retarded state. Out of the mix, he emphasizes three factors as the primary culprits: lagging economic reform, the curse of resource wealth, and a disempowered legislature. He discounts the importance of the Soviet legacy, ethnic diversity, public intolerance, and the Orthodox Church. Fish acknowledges that (statistical) linear regression analysis risks brushing over critical particularities and discontinuities, and as compensation he offers a clean analytic design, with carefully specified criteria, much well-exploited data, a basis for prediction, and a fair future test for proving him right or wrong.

In This Book, M. Steven Fish Offers An Explanation For The Direction Of Regime Change In Post-soviet Russia. Relying On Cross-national Comparative Analysis And In-depth Field Research In Russia, Fish Shows 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. Fish's Explanation Challenges Others That Have Attributed Russia's Political Travails To History, Political Culture, Or Shock Therapy In Economic Policy. Democracy Derailed In Russia Offers A Theoretically Original And Empirically Rigorous Explanation For One Of The Most Pressing Political Problems Of Our Time.--jacket. Some Concepts And Their Application To Russia -- Symptoms Of The Failure Of Democracy -- The Russian Condition In Global Perspective -- The Structural Problem: Grease And Glitter -- The Policy Problem: Economic Statism -- The Institutional Problem: Superpresidentialism -- Can Democracy Get Back On Track? M. Steven Fish. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 273-302) And Index. 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. Why has democracy failed to take root in Russia? Russia experienced dramatic political breakthroughs in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but it subsequently failed to maintain progress toward democracy. This text offers an explanation for the direction of regime change in post-Soviet Russia