Democracy in a Russian Mirror (Cambridge Studies in the Theory of Democracy, Series Number 11)

What can we learn about democracy from the experience of post-Soviet Russia? What can we learn about the prospects for democracy in Russia from the experience of 'really existing democracies'? Must some 'pre-requisites', cultural or material, be fulfilled for democracy to become possible? This book examines the current state of Russia and the prospects for democracy, posing several challenges to our understanding of democracy. Thirteen contributors expand the debate over these questions, offering a variety of insights, interpretations, and conclusions vital to understanding the conditions of emergence and survival of successful democracies. Content: Introduction Part I. Russia: 1. Peculiarities of Russian politics Andranik Migranyan 2. Imitating democracy, imitating authoritarianism Stephen Holmes 3. Russian perspectives on democracy, political emancipation, and integrity Mikhail Ilyin 4. Color revolutions and Russia Valery Solovei Part II. Democracy in a Russian Mirror: 5. Judging democracy as form of government for given territories: utopia or apologetics? John Dunn 6. Democracy: ancient and modern, good and bad Pasquale Pasquino 7. The role of elections in democracy Boris Makarenko 8. Elections and the challenge of more democracy Jose Maria Maravall 9. Democracy between elections Ian Shapiro 10. General settings, regional/national factors and the concept of non-western democracy Alexei D. Voskressenski 11. 'Non-western democracy' in the West Adam Przeworski Part III. Paths of Political Change: 12. Instituting political change John Ferejohn 13. Political institution and political order(s) Adam Przeworski 14. How do transitions to democracy get stuck and where? Boris Makarenko and Andrei Melville Afterword: open issues and disagreements. What can we learn about democracy from the experience of post-Soviet Russia? What can we learn about the prospects for democracy in Russia from the experience of "really existing democracies?" Must some "pre-requisites," cultural or material, be fulfilled for democracy to become possible? This book examines the current state and the prospects for democracy in Russia, posing several challenges to our understanding of democracy. Thirteen contributors expand the debate over these questions, offering a variety of insights, interpretations, and conclusions vital to understanding the conditions of emergence and survival of successful democracies This book examines the current state of Russia and the prospects for democracy in the light of the experience of existing democracies. Posing several challenges to our understanding of democracy, thirteen contributors argue some of the central questions vital to understanding the conditions of emergence and survival of successful democracies.