Description
Book SynopsisThis study examines Russian politics in the Soviet and post-Soviet eras using sociologist Robert Mertonâs middle-range theory. It analyzes ideology, decision making, political culture, public opinion, and democratization and offers an innovative approach to the study of Russian politics in the twenty-first century.
Trade ReviewThe book serves as a valuable reminder of how the study of Russian politics can benefit from and contribute to cumulative knowledge, and it should be a worthwhile addition to seminars on the conduct of inquiry and comparative politics. * Slavic Review *
Nobody has done more over the years than Frederic J. Fleron Jr. to close the methodological gap between information-rich Soviet/Russian Studies and the theory-driven field of comparative politics, and to facilitate learned communication between the study of the Soviet Union and Russia and the mainstream discipline of political science. Many of his key contributions to the discussion are revisited in this latest volume along with new chapters reframing the issues in terms of progress made and the distance yet to be traveled. In this study, Fleron has successfully provided a well-crafted portal into the possibilities and opportunities for the application of middle-range theory in the field of Russian studies. This fine book closes with a tour-de-force conclusion which is at once sophisticated, insightful, historically grounded, and clearly expressed. -- Robert Sharlet, Union College
Frederic J. Fleron Jr. has long been at the forefront of efforts to foster methodological rigor in Soviet and post-Soviet studies and to integrate work in this area more fully into the mainstream of the discipline of comparative politics. This book marks a suitable capstone for these missions. It will be of interest to area specialists and comparativists alike. -- Munroe Eagles, State University of New York at Buffalo
Table of ContentsPart I: Introduction Chapter 1: The View from Middle-Range Part II: Metatheory Chapter 2: The Logic of Inquiry in Sovietology: Soviet Area Studies and the Social Sciences Chapter 3: Silver Anniversary of the Publication of Communist Studies and the Social Sciences Chapter 4: The Logic of Inquiry in Post-Sovietology: Russian Studies and the Social Sciences Part III: Middle-Range Theories Chapter 5: Co-optation as a Mechanism of Adaptation to Change Chapter 6: Motivation, Methodology and Communist Ideology Chapter 7: The Western Connection: Technical Rationality and Soviet Politics Chapter 8: Political Culture in Post-Soviet Russia: Recent Empirical Investigations Chapter 9: Does the Public Matter for Democratization in Russia? Chapter 10: Congruence Theory Applied: Democratization in Russia Part IV: Conclusion Chapter 11: Conclusion: Thinking Theoretically about Russian & Soviet Politics: Carnivals, Cockfights, and Epistemic Communities
