Secret Leviathan: Secrecy and State Capacity under Soviet Communism (StanfordHoover Series on Authoritarianism)

"The Soviet Union was one of the most secretive states that ever existed. Defended by a complex apparatus of rules and checks administered by the secret police, the Soviet state had seemingly unprecedented capabilities based on its near monopoly of productive capital, monolithic authority, and secretive decision making. But behind the scenes, Soviet secrecy was double-edged: it raised transaction costs, incentivized indecision, compromised the effectiveness of government officials, eroded citizens' trust in institutions and in each other, and led to a secretive society and an uninformed elite. The result is what this book calls the secrecy/capacity tradeoff: a bargain in which the Soviet state accepted the reduction of state capacity as the cost of ensuring its own survival. This book is the first comprehensive, analytical, multi-faceted history of Soviet secrecy in the English language. Harrison combines quantitative and qualitative evidence to evaluate the impact of secrecy on Soviet state capacity from the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Based on multiple years of research in once-secret Soviet-era archives, this book addresses two gaps in history and social science: one the core role of secrecy in building and stabilizing the communist states of the twentieth century; the other the corrosive effects of secrecy on the capabilities of authoritarian states"-- Provided by publisher

Over the last few decades, the decline of the public universityhas dramatically increased under intensified commercialization andprivatization, with market-driven restructurings leading to thedeterioration of working and learning conditions. A growing reservearmy of scholars and students, who enter precarious learning,teaching, and research arrangements, have joined recent waves ofpublic unrest in both developed and developing countries toadvocate for reforms to higher education. Yet even the most visiblecampaigns have rarely put forward any proposals for an alternativeinstitutional organization. Based on extensive fieldwork inVenezuela, The Alternative University outlines the originsand day-to-day functioning of the colossal effort of late PresidentHugo Chávez's government to create a university that challengednational and global higher education norms.

Through participant observation, extensive interviews withpolicymakers, senior managers, academics, and students, as well asin-depth archival inquiry, Mariya Ivancheva historicizes theBolivarian University of Venezuela (UBV), the vanguard institutionof the higher education reform, and examines the complex and oftencontradictory and quixotic visions, policies, and practices thatturn the alternative university model into a lived reality.

This book offers a serious contribution to debates on the futureof the university and the role of the state in the era ofneoliberal globalization, and outlines lessons for policymakers andeducators who aspire to develop higher education alternatives.

Over the last few decades, the decline of the public university has dramatically increased under intensified commercialization and privatization, with market-driven restructurings leading to the deterioration of working and learning conditions. A growing reserve army of scholars and students, who enter precarious learning, teaching, and research arrangements, have joined recent waves of public unrest in both developed and developing countries to advocate for reforms to higher education. Yet even the most visible campaigns have rarely put forward any proposals for an alternative institutional organization. Based on extensive fieldwork in Venezuela, The Alternative University outlines the origins and day-to-day functioning of the colossal effort of late President Hugo Chvez's government to create a university that challenged national and global higher education norms. Through participant observation, extensive interviews with policymakers, senior managers, academics, and students, as well as in-depth archival inquiry, Mariya Ivancheva historicizes the Bolivarian University of Venezuela (UBV), the vanguard institution of the higher education reform, and examines the complex and often contradictory and quixotic visions, policies, and practices that turn the alternative university model into a lived reality. This book offers a serious contribution to debates on the future of the university and the role of the state in the era of neoliberal globalization, and outlines lessons for policymakers and educators who aspire to develop higher education alternatives. Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Contents List of Figures List of Tables Preface Acknowledgments Abbreviations and Russian Terms 1. Secret Leviathan 2. The Secrecy/Capacity Tradeoff 3. The Secrecy Tax 4. Secrecy and Fear 5. Secret Policing and Discrimination 6. Secret Policing and Mistrust 7. Secrecy and the Uninformed Elite 8. Secrecy and Twenty-First-Century Authoritarianism Notes Bibliography Index Back Cover