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In Local Heroes, Kathryn Stoner-Weiss analyzes a crucial aspect of one of the great dramas of modern times--the reconstitution of the Russian polity and economy after more than seventy years of communist rule. This is the first book to look comprehensively and systematically at Russia's democratic transition at the local level. Its goal is to explain why some of the new political institutions in the Russian provinces weathered the monumental changes of the early 1990s better than others. Using newly available economic, political, and sociological data to test various theories of democratization and institutional performance, Stoner-Weiss finds that traditional theories are unable to explain variations in regional government performance in Russia.
Local Heroes argues that the legacy of the former economic system influenced the operation of new political institutions in important and often unexpected ways. Past institutional structures, specifically the concentration of the regional economy, promoted the formation of political and economic coalitions within a new proto-democratic institutional framework. These coalitions have had positive effects on governmental performance. For democratic theorists, this may be a surprising conclusion. However, it is possible, as Stoner-Weiss suggests, that the needs of democratic development may be different in the short run than in the long run. The "local heroes" of today may be impediments to the further development of democracy tomorrow. This provocative work, solidly grounded in research and theory, will interest anyone concerned with issues of economic and political transition.
List of contents
List of Tables and Figures Ch. 2The Political Economy of Government Performance Ch. 3Decentralization and Democratization: The Development of Regional Government Institutions Ch. 4Who Governs Russia Well? Measuring Institutional Performance Ch. 5Testing Theories of Performance Variation: Economic, Social-Structural, and Cultural Hypotheses Ch. 6The Political Economy of Government Performance: Testing the Theory Ch. 7Democracy and the Market at Risk? App. ARegional Government Structures App. BCross-Tabulations of Constituent Satisfaction with Regional Government by Urban and Rural Dwellers and by Levels of Education Bibliography Index
About the author
Kathryn Stoner-Weiss is Assistant Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University.
Summary
Analyzes the reconstitution of the Russian polity. This book looks at Russia's democratic transition at the local level. It explains why some of the political institutions in the Russian provinces weathered the monumental changes of the early 1990s better than others.
Additional text
"Local Heroes . . . makes a substantial empirical contribution to our knowledge of . . . four Russian regions. It is an important book for scholars of Russia and also offers many insights to scholars of other countries as well."---Sue Davis, Russian Review
