Russia's Regions and Comparative Subnational Politics
Russia's Regions and Comparative Subnational Politics

Author: William M. Reisinger

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-01-17

Total Pages: 231

ISBN-13: 1135122474

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Subnational political units are growing in influence in national and international affairs, drawing increasing scholarly attention to politics beyond national capitals. In this book, leading Russian and Western political scientists contribute to debates in comparative politics by examining Russia’s subnational politics. Beginning with a chapter that reviews major debates in theory and method, this book continues to examine Russia’s 83 regions, exploring a wide range of topics including the nature and stability of authoritarian regimes, federal politics, political parties, ethnic conflict, governance and inequality in a comparative perspective. Providing both qualitative and quantitative data from 20 years of original research, the book draws on elite interaction, public opinion and the role of institutions regionally in the post-Soviet years. The regions vary on a number of theoretically interesting dimensions while their federal membership provides control for other dimensions that are challenging for globally comparative studies. The authors demonstrate the utility of subnational analyses and show how regional research can help answer a variety of political questions, providing evidence from Russia that can be used by specialists on other large countries or world regions in cross-national scholarship. Situated within broader theoretical and methodological political science debates, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Russian politics, comparative politics, regionalism and subnational politics.

The Politics of Sub-National Authoritarianism in Russia
The Politics of Sub-National Authoritarianism in Russia

Author: Cameron Ross

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-02-24

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 1317019997

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By the end of the 2000s Russia had become an increasingly authoritarian state, which was characterised by the following features: outrageously unfair and fraudulent elections, the existence of weak and impotent political parties, a heavily censored (often self-censored) media, weak rubber-stamping legislatures at the national and sub-national levels, politically subordinated courts, the arbitrary use of the economic powers of the state, and widespread corruption. However, this picture would be incomplete without taking into account the sub-national dimension of these subversive institutions and practices across the regions of the Russian Federation. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, sub-national political developments in Russia became highly diversified and the political map of Russia’s regions became multi-faceted. The period of 2000s demonstrated a drive on the part of the Kremlin to re-centralise politics and governance to the demise of newly-emerging democratic institutions at both the national and sub-national levels. Yet, federalism and regionalism remain key elements of the research agenda in Russian politics, and the overall political map of Russia’s regions is far from being monotonic. Rather, it is similar to a complex multi-piece puzzle, which can only be put together through skilful crafting. The 12 chapters in this collection are oriented towards the generation of more theoretically and empirically solid inferences and provide critical evaluations of the multiple deficiencies in Russia’s sub-national authoritarianism, including: principal-agent problems in the relations between the layers of the ’power vertical’, unresolved issues of regime legitimacy that have resulted from manipulative electoral practices, and the inefficient performance of regional and local governments. The volume brings together a team of international experts on Russian regional politics which includes top scholars from Britain, Canada, Russia and the USA.

Making and Breaking Democratic Transitions
Making and Breaking Democratic Transitions

Author: Vladimir Gel'man

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2005-01-12

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 9780742525610

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Focusing on the vastly different outcomes of post-Soviet regime transitions, this study explores why some societies have become more democratic and some have not. Based on in-depth comparative analyses, the book assesses political developments in six of Russia's regions (Saratov, Nizhnii Novgorod, Volgograd, Ryazan', Ul'yanovsk, and Tver' oblasts) since 1988.

Federalism in China and Russia
Federalism in China and Russia

Author: Alexander Libman

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 279

ISBN-13: 1788972198

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The book offers a comparative analysis of center-region relations in Russia and in China. The authors focus in particular on fiscal ties and incentives, bureaucratic and local government practices, flows of information, and the determinants of divergence between both countries. The book is based on a synthesis of a large body of empirical and theoretical evidence, and will appeal to scholars in public economics, political economy and comparative politics, as well as to students and policy analysts.

Inside Countries
Inside Countries

Author: Agustina Giraudy

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2019-06-13

Total Pages: 389

ISBN-13: 110849658X

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Offers a groundbreaking analysis of the distinctive substantive, theoretical and methodological contributions of subnational research in the field of comparative politics.

Causes and Consequences of Democratization
Causes and Consequences of Democratization

Author: Anastassia V. Obydenkova

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-05-22

Total Pages: 221

ISBN-13: 1317595130

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In recent decades, the regions of Russia have taken different paths of regime transition. Despite the consolidation of an autocratic regime at national level and the centralization steered by Vladimir Putin’s government, the variation across sub-national regimes persists. Using an innovative theoretical framework, this book explores both causes and consequences of democratization in the regions of Russia. It is the first study in the field to systematically integrate structural and agency approaches in order to account for economic, social, historical and international causes of democratization and to trace its consequences. By focusing on the challenging and under-studied topic of sub-national regimes, the book provides a unique perspective on regime transition and the new theoretical framework contributes to a better understanding of democratization world-wide. The book will be of key interest to scholars and students of democratization, sub-national regimes, East European politics, comparative politics, post-communism, and international relations.

The Dynamics of Sub-National Authoritarianism
The Dynamics of Sub-National Authoritarianism

Author: Vladimir Gel'man

Publisher:

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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In the 1990s, sub-national authoritarian regimes - local-based monopolies of ruling elites - emerged in many of Russia's regions and cities against the background of spontaneous decentralization of government and competitive electoral politics. In the 2000s, the decline of political competition and recentralization of the Russian state led to incorporation of sub-national authoritarian regimes under federal control and cooptation of local-based actors into the dominant party, United Russia. This paper is devoted to a comparative analysis of sub-national authoritarianism in Russia in light of the experience of local political machines in other countries, ranging from US cities from the 1870s-1930s to Southern Italy from the 1950s-1980s. Unlike the American political machines, which were demolished from below as a by-product of modernization processes, Russia's sub-national authoritarian regimes were integrated from above into the nation-wide authoritarianism. One might expect further stagnation of sub-national authoritarian regimes in Russia until major regime changes will occur on the national level.

The Regional Roots of Russia's Political Regime
The Regional Roots of Russia's Political Regime

Author: William M. Reisinger

Publisher: University of Michigan Press

Published: 2017-01-09

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 0472122460

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In The Regional Roots of Russia’s Political Regime, William M. Reisinger and Bryon J. Moraski examine Russian politics at the subnational level in order to discover why democracy failed to take root and how Putin’s authoritarian regime materialized. Since the national regime needed dominant victories in federal legislative and presidential elections, elections were critical to the resurgence of Russian authoritarianism. At the same time, victories without a traditional nationwide political party required that regional politicians help deliver votes. Putin employed a variety of resources to encourage the collaboration of regional leaders during federal elections and to sanction those who would or could not deliver these votes. By analyzing successive federal elections, Reisinger and Moraski show that regions that led the way in delivering votes in Putin’s favor were those that had been both more independent and more authoritarian during the Yeltsin era. These authoritarian enclaves under Yeltsin became models of behavior in the Putin regime, which prized deferential election results. Other regions were quick to follow this lead, functioning during Putin’s ascendancy as “swing states.” Still, Russia’s regimes continued to exhibit regime diversity, with democratic enclaves resisting the push to become cogs in the Kremlin’s electoral authoritarian wheel. While motivated by scholarly questions about authoritarianism, democracy, and the influence of subnational forces on national regime trajectories, Reisinger and Moraski also consider policy-relevant questions.

The Politics of Inequality in Russia
The Politics of Inequality in Russia

Author: Thomas F. Remington

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2011-04-29

Total Pages: 235

ISBN-13: 1139499718

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This book investigates the relationship between the character of political regimes in Russia's subnational regions and the structure of earnings and income. Based on extensive data from Russian official sources and surveys conducted by the World Bank, the book shows that income inequality is higher in more pluralistic regions. It argues that the relationship between firms and government differs between more democratic and more authoritarian regional regimes. In more democratic regions, business firms and government have more cooperative relations, restraining the power of government over business and encouraging business to invest more, pay more and report more of their wages. Average wages are higher in more democratic regions and poverty is lower, but wage and income inequality are also higher. The book argues that the rising inequality in postcommunist Russia reflects the inability of a weak state to carry out a redistributive social policy.

Politics in Russia
Politics in Russia

Author: Thomas F. Remington

Publisher: Addison-Wesley Longman

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780321364821

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Focusing on institutions and processes while paying rigorous attention to scholarship, Politics in Russia, Fourth Edition, provides an authoritative overview of the Russian political system. Book jacket.