Constraining Elites in Russia and Indonesia

This is a thought-provoking analysis on why democracy succeeds in some countries but not others comparing the post-transition experiences of two cases of contemporary democratisation: Russia and Indonesia. Following authoritarian regimes democracy eroded in Russia but flourished in Indonesia - so confounding dominant theories of democratisation that predicted the opposite outcomes based on their levels of socioeconomic development and histories of statehood. Identifying key behaviours and patterns of political participation as a factor Lussier interweaves ethnographic interview and quantitative public opinion data to expand our understanding on how mass political participation contributes to a democracy''s survival. The integration of both micro- and macro-level data in a single study is one of this project''s most significant contributions and will enhance its appeal to both researchers and instructors.