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Many analysts initially believed that the process of Soviet disintegration would inevitably open a Pandora's box of ethnic nationalism and regional self-determination. But, despite obvious setbacks such as Chechnya, the developments of the last decade have shown that while forces of disintegration remain a very real threat, the fifteen successor states have managed to stay largely intact. One explanation for this somewhat unexpected success is the varied strategies of center-periphery relations adopted by the post-Soviet states, tailored to meet the unique of circumstances faced by each former republic of the Soviet Union. The contributors to this up-to-date volume examine the specific cases of success and failure in center-periphery relations in the former USSR, and offer some provocative overall conclusions about the progress made and the impact on the process of democratization.
The cases examined in this volume are drawn from Russia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, among others. These case studies demonstrate that realtions between national and local governments have been evolving differently in each of the successor states in the but in each case there has been a conscious attempt to create stacble center-periphery relations, which give a degree of autonomy to minority groups while still providing for a stable state and democratic development. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of the former Soviet Union and those interested in federalization and center-periphery.
List of contents
Center-Periphery Relations and Their Importance for the Successor States by Terry D. Clark and Daniel R. Kempton
Part IThe Challenges to Assessing Federalism in Russia by Daniel R. Kempton
Komi and Russia: The Development of Regional Politics by James Alexander
Bargaining with Moscow: The Case of Sakha by Daniel R. Kempton
Negotiating Autonomy for Tatarstan and Chechnya by Ann E. Robertson
The Kaliningrad Oblast--A Troublesome Excalve by Ingmar Oldberg
Federal Reform and Resource Conflict: The Nenets Autonomous Okrug? by Helge Blakkisrud
Assessing Russia's Evolution to Federalism by Danieal R. Kempton
Part IIStudying Local Politics in the Former Soviet Union by Terry D. Clark
Regionalism in Post-Soviet Ukraine by Paul Kubicek
Center-Periphery Relations in Lithuania: National-Local Links in Lithuaniar by Terry D. Clark
Central Power and Regional and Local Government in Uzbekistan by Lawrence R. Robertson and Roger D. Kangas
Identity/Difference in Central Asia: Tribes, Clans, and Mahalla by Anthony Bichel
Conclusions and Assessments: Strategies in Center-Periphery Relations by Daniel R. Kempton and Terry D. Clark
Index
About the author
DANIEL R. KEMPTON is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb Illinois. Articles he has written include
Soviet Debates Over the Developing World: The Deciphering of Esoteric Communications, and
Western Europe in Soviet Global Strategy: Soviet Power and the Global Correlation of Forces (with Rober E. Kanet).
