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This volume - a product of the Soviet Domestic Politics workshop sponsored by the Social Science Research Council - marks an end and a new beginning. The end, of course, is that of Sovietology, now permanently "overtaken by events". The beginning encompasses not only a radical multiplication of subjects for analysis - the post-Soviet states - but also the arrival of a new generation of scholars entering the field at its turning point. As the essays in this collection demonstrate, they bring fresh contemporary social scientific questions and methods to an unprecedentedly accessible universe of diverse social groups and societies once subsumed under the Soviet rubric. Their work enriches not only post-Soviet studies but the entire range of comparativist work in the social sciences. Among the authors included here are Jane Dawson, Ellen Hamilton, Joel Hellman, Mark Saroyan, Joseph Schull and Michael Smith.
This volume - a product of the Soviet Domestic Politics workshop sponsored by the Social Science Research Council - marks an end and a new beginning. The end, of course, is that of Sovietology, now permanently "overtaken by events". The beginning encompasses not only a radical multiplication of subjects for analysis - the post-Soviet states - but also the arrival of a new generation of scholars entering the field at its turning point. As the essays in this collection demonstrate, they bring fresh contemporary social scientific questions and methods to an unprecedentedly accessible universe of diverse social groups and societies once subsumed under the Soviet rubric. Their work enriches not only post-Soviet studies but the entire range of comparativist work in the social sciences. Among the authors included here are Jane Dawson, Ellen Hamilton, Joel Hellman, Mark Saroyan, Joseph Schull and Michael Smith.
The Totalitarian Paradigm after the End of Communism by Anonim Pdf
Concepts of totalitarianism have undergone an academic revival in recent years, particularly since the breakdown of communist systems in Europe in 1989-91: the totalitarian paradigm, so it seems to many scholars today, had been discarded prematurely in the heat of the Cold War. The demise of communism as a social system is, however, not only an important cause of the recurring attractiveness of the totalitarian paradigm, but provides at the same time new evidence and, correspondingly, new problems of explanation for all approaches in communist studies and totalitarianism theory in particular. This book contains articles by philosophers, social scientists and historians who reassess the validity of the totalitarian approach in the light of the recent historical developments in Eastern Europe. A first group of authors focus on the analytical usefulness and explanatory power of classic concepts of totalitarianism after having observed the failed reforms of the Gorbachev-era and the collapse of Europe's communist systems in 1989-91. In these contributions the totalitarian paradigm is contrasted with other approaches with respect to cognitive power as well as normative implications. In the second group of contributions the focus is on the reassessment of methodological and theoretical problems of the classic concepts of totalitarianism. The authors attempt to reinterpret the classic concepts so as to meet the objections which have been put forward against those concepts during the last decades. The study thereby traces some of the intellectual roots of the totalitarian paradigm that precede the outbreak of the Cold War, such as the work of Sigmund Neumann and Franz Borkenau. It also focuses on the most famous authors in the field: Hannah Arendt and Carl Joachim Friedrich. In addition it discusses theorists of totalitarianism like Juan Linz, whose contributions to totalitarianism theory have too often been overlooked.
Russian Studies and Comparative Politics by Frederic J. Fleron Pdf
This book brings together several of the author’s empirical studies that demonstrate the strength and utility of sociologist Robert Merton’s classic middle-range theory for understanding aspects of both Soviet and post-Soviet Russian politics. Some of those studies demonstrate that testing middle-range social science theory could take place even in the Soviet era when there were significant limitations of access to empirical data, and meaningful field research in the USSR was all but impossible. In the introductory chapter, the author explains the need for and advantages of studying Russian and Soviet politics from the perspective of middle-range social science theory. Then follow three chapters analyzing methodological issues in Soviet/post-Soviet studies. The author presents his six empirical studies employing middle-range social science theories to explore in Russia/USSR dimensions of organizations, ideology and decisionmaking, technology transfer and cultural diffusion, political culture, public opinion and democratization, and congruence of authority patterns in state-society relations. The book concludes with a chapter arguing the advantages of thinking theoretically about Russian and Soviet politics with the establishment of a new epistemic community organized around studies employing middle-range theory. This book presents examples of solutions to long-standing debates between area studies and the academic disciplines and between idiographic and nomothetic approaches to knowledge in the social sciences. In contrast to the tradition of Carnivals and Cockfights in Russian/Soviet area studies since the mid-20th Century, the book offers a new way of approaching the study of Russian politics for the 21st Century.
The American Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies by Patt Leonard,Rebecca Routh Pdf
This bibliography, first published in 1957, provides citations to North American academic literature on Europe, Central Europe, the Balkans, the Baltic States and the former Soviet Union. Organised by discipline, it covers the arts, humanities, social sciences, life sciences and technology.
Russian Foreign Policy and International Relations Theory by Christer Pursiainen Pdf
An original and challenging examination of how to transform post-Sovietological study of Soviet and Russian foreign policy into a more integrated part of the Social Sciences and International Relations Theory. This book represents the first detailed and sustained synthesis international relations theory and Soviet/Russian foreign and security policy in academic literature.
Walter Laqueur as been hailed as "one of our most distinguished scholars of modern European history" in the New York Times Book Review. Robert Byrnes, writing in the Journal of Modern History, called him "one of the most remarkable men in the Western world working in the field." Over a span of three decades, in books ranging from Russia and Germany to the recent Black Hundred, he has won a reputation as a major writer and a provocative thinker. Now he turns his attention to the greatest enigma of our time: the rise and fall of the Soviet Union. In The Dream that Failed, Laqueur offers an authoritative assessment of the Soviet era--from the triumph of Lenin to the fall of Gorbachev. In the last three years, decades of conventional wisdom about the U.S.S.R. have been swept away, while a flood of evidence from Russian archives demands new thinking about old assumptions. Laqueur rises to the challenge with a critical inquiry conducted on a grand scale. He shows why the Bolsheviks won the struggle for power in 1917; how they captured the commitment of a young generation of Russians; why the idealism faded as Soviet power grew; how the system ultimately collapsed; and why Western experts have been so wrong about the Communist state. Always thoughtful and incisive, Laqueur reflects on the early enthusiasm of foreign observers and Bolshevik revolutionaries--then takes a piercing look at the totalitarian nature of the Soviet Union. We see how Communist society stagnated during the 1960s and '70s, as the economy wobbled to the brink; we also see how Western observers, from academic experts to CIA analysts, made wildly optimistic estimates of Moscow's economic and political strength. Just weeks before the U.S.S.R. disappeared from the earth, scholars were confidently predicting the survival of the Soviet Union. But in underscoring the rot and repression, he also notes that the Communist state did not necessarily have to fall when it did, and he examines the many factors behind the collapse (the pressure from Reagan's Star Wars arms program, for instance, and ethnic nationalism). Some of these same problems, he finds, continue to shape the future of Russia and the other successor states. Only now, in the rubble of this lost empire, are we coming to grips with just how wrong our assumptions about the U.S.S.R. had been. In The Dream That Failed, an internationally renowned historian provides a new understanding of the Soviet experience, from the rise of Communism to its sudden fall. The result of years of research and reflection, it sheds fresh light on a central episode in our turbulent century.
Reassessing Orientalism by Michael Kemper,Artemy M. Kalinovsky Pdf
Orientalism as a concept was first applied to Western colonial views of the East. Subsequently, different types of orientalism were discovered but the premise was that these took their lead from Western-style orientalism, applying it in different circumstances. This book, on the other hand, argues that the diffusion of interpretations and techniques in orientalism was not uni-directional, and that the different orientologies – Western, Soviet and oriental orientologies – were interlocked, in such a way that a change in any one of them affected the others; that the different orientologies did not develop in isolation from each other; and that, importantly, those being orientalised were active, not passive, players in shaping how the views of themselves were developed.
A pathbreaking history of Sufism, from the earliest centuries of Islam to the present After centuries as the most important ascetic-mystical strand of Islam, Sufism saw a sharp decline in the twentieth century, only to experience a stunning revival in recent decades. In this comprehensive new history of Sufism from the earliest centuries of Islam to today, Alexander Knysh, a leading expert on the subject, reveals the tradition in all its richness. Knysh explores how Sufism has been viewed by both insiders and outsiders since its inception. He examines the key aspects of Sufism, from definitions and discourses to leadership, institutions, and practices. He devotes special attention to Sufi approaches to the Qur’an, drawing parallels with similar uses of scripture in Judaism and Christianity. He traces how Sufism grew from a set of simple moral-ethical precepts into a sophisticated tradition with professional Sufi masters (shaykhs) who became powerful players in Muslim public life but whose authority was challenged by those advocating the equality of all Muslims before God. Knysh also examines the roots of the ongoing conflict between the Sufis and their fundamentalist critics, the Salafis—a major fact of Muslim life today. Based on a wealth of primary and secondary sources, Sufism is an indispensable account of a vital aspect of Islam.
Post-communist Studies And Political Science by Jr. Fleron,Erik P Hoffmann Pdf
Serious stock-taking is in progress now among practitioners of whathas been called Sovietology, meaning studies of the Union of SovietSocialist Republics. The reason is that the field for the most part hadnot been expecting what happened in 1991: The USSR collapsed andwent out of existence as a unified state system governing a sixth ofthe world's territory, having allowed its East European empire tofree itself from Soviet dominance somewhat earlier.It might be said in defense of Sovietology that, by the beginningof the 1980s, it understood that economic and political crises werebrewing in the Soviet Union and its outer empire. But the field asa whole failed to grasp the full depth of the systemic crisis in SovietRussia and the destructive or self-destructive potentialities inherentin it. As the editors of this valuable volume write in the Introduction:"Sovietology was not prepared for perestroika and postcommunism."
Inside the Soviet Alternate Universe by Dick Combs Pdf
"Reappraises the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union based on the author's 35-year career as a specialist in Soviet and post-Soviet affairs. Explores the psychological universe of Soviet rulers to clarify the nature of Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms"--Provided by publisher.
Counsel in the Caucasus: Professionalization and Law in Georgia by Christopher P. M. Waters Pdf
This book traces the development of the rule of law in Georgia since its independence and speculates on its future direction. It does so by focusing on changes in the legal profession after 1991. Intriguingly, the book, which is based on extensive field-work, concludes that culture and informal regulation are key to understanding how Georgian lawyers are governed, or rather govern themselves. Indeed, for several years after independence from the Soviet Union there was no functioning law on attorneys; informal regulation, based on the importance of reputation and networks, was the only sort of regulation. Other topics addressed in the book include Georgia's legal history, its current human rights situation, theories of professionalization, and the link between law and development. The book also compares the Georgian experience to that country's South Caucasian neighbors - Armenia and Azerbaijan - thus rounding the book out as a regional study.
Ideology and the Collapse of the Soviet System by Neil Robinson Pdf
'. . . this is an excellent book which sheds considerable light upon the role of ideology, particularly in the last years of the Soviet Union.' - Graeme Gill, Europe - Asia Studies '. . . this work is a serious attempt to bring ideology back into discussions about the end of the Soviet Union.' - Bartholomew Goldyn, Slovo This innovative book offers a critical history of the development of Soviet ideology, discussing its centrality to Soviet politics and the destructive effect that it had on the Gorbachev reforms. Neil Robinson analyses the nature and historical evolution of Soviet ideology between 1917 and 1985 to demonstrate the structural importance of Soviet ideological discourse and the uncertain place that it allocated to the communist party in the Soviet political system. On the basis of this analysis, Dr Robinson provides a fresh interpretation of Gorbachev's political reforms. He describes the ideological dynamic that underwrote the development of perestroika, how Gorbachev's ideas on democratization sent contradictory messages to the communist party, and how this stimulated opposition to perestroika from party cadres and Soviet society.
