Post-Soviet Political Order

<p><em>Post-Soviet Political Order</em> asks what is shaping the institutional pattern of the post-Soviet political order, what the new order will be like, what patterns of conflict are emerging, and what can be done about stabilising the region. In considering these questions the contributors converge on four common themes:<br>* the institutional legacy of empire<br>* the social processes unleashed by imperial collapse<br>* patterns of bargaining within and between states to resolve conflicts arising out of the imperial collapse<br>* the impact of the wider international setting on the pattern of post-imperial politics<br>Focusing on the former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries, the contributors show how strong state institutions are essential if conflict and political instability are to be avoided.</p> 1. Introduction: Reconstructing Politics Amidst the Wreckage Of Empire Jack Snyder 2. After Empire: Competing Discourses and Interstate Conflict in Postimperial Eastern Europe Alexander J. Motyl 3. The Great War and the Mobilization of Ethnicity in the Russian Empire Mark von Hagen 4. Will Russia Survive? Center and Periphery in the Russian Federation Steven Solnick 5. Ethnolinguistic and Religious Pluralism and Democratic Construction in Ukraine Jose Casanova 6. Possibilities for Conflict and Conflict Resolution in Post-Soviet Central Asia Rajan Menon and Hendrik Spruyt 7. Russian Hegemony and State Breakdown in the Periphery: Causes and Consequences of the Civil War in Tajikistan Barnett R. Rubin 8. Conclusion: Managing Normal Instability Barnett R. Rubin