Abstract
Lanham MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004, 234, £17.00, ISBN 0 8018 7976 0
Readership: Postgraduates, academic/research
Rating: ****
Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2004, 332, £22.95, ISBN 0 7425 2644 5
Readership: Postgraduates, academic/research, professional
Rating: ****
Reviewer: EDWIN BACON (University of Birmingham)
These are two very different books, but the threads that run through them are the perennial questions for observers of Russia. Billington's book deals with the questions of Russian identity, whereas Reddaway and Orttung, and their coauthors, address the issue of how Russia is ruled.
James Billington's deep knowledge of Russian culture and ideas shines through a book which reads as a series of beautifully constructed essays, mapping the age-old issues of Russian identity onto the contemporary scene. The style is in many ways more literary than political science, but its content treads confidently across today's Russia. Billington, the Librarian of the US Congress, identifies the distinctiveness of Russian culture in three elements: the traditional religious base; periodic borrowing from the West; and a special feeling for land and nature. On this base, plus a sideline on the pervasiveness of bureaucratic behaviour patterns, he deepens our understanding of contemporary political movements in Russia. In particular he deals with those from the nationalist right and left: the Communists and their leader Gennady Zyuganov, with their strange fusion of the legacy of Leninism and a love for traditional Russia, Orthodoxy and all; strident nationalist writers such as Dugin and Platonov; and Sergei Glazev and the Motherland bloc, the surprise package of 2003's parliamentary elections (or as Billington has it in a rare typo ‘the 1903 Duma elections’ (p. 91)). This book manages to bring together a deep knowledge of Russian thought, literature, history, and art with a reading of the post-communist search for identity. It's not full of surveys, tables, or diagrammatic representations, but it is marinated in the accumulated knowledge of many years studying Russia.
Reddaway and Orttung's edited volume (the first in a series of two) is extremely valuable for understanding Vladimir Putin's answer to the question of how Russia is best ruled. It takes the form of a detailed study of Putin's federal reforms of 2000 and their aftermath. In the summer of 2000 Putin, newly installed as president, reorganised centre-regional relations by creating seven ‘super regions’ to cover the territory of the world's biggest country. He appointed to each a presidential envoy, tasked with bringing Russia's 89 regions into conformity with federal laws. At the same time Putin reorganised the upper house of parliament, removing regional heads from their seats and replacing them with representatives. Reddaway and Orttung provide perceptive introductory chapters and a conclusion. Between these are the particularly valuable individual chapters covering each of the seven ‘federal okrugs’ in some detail. The editorial policy of ensuring that each of these chapters analyses the same comprehensive series of topics allows useful comparisons between regions to be made, and overall conclusions to be drawn. These conclusions suggests that Putin's reforms have successfully reduced the power of the regional heads, but that his envoys lack the resources to build on this.
Excellent book though this is in its text, no review can avoid mentioning the appalling maps. A book on Russia's 89 regions should not have maps seemingly designed to confuse invading forces, as a huge number of regions are marked in completely the wrong place, sometimes in the wrong area of the country completely. From the well-known Chechnya and Kaliningrad through to the Sakha republic (an area a third of the size of Europe), the maps misplace all of these and many more.
Fayetteville AR: University of Arkansas Press, 2003, 300, $24.95, ISBN 1 55728 746 5
Readership: Postgraduates, academic/research
Rating: ***
Reviewer: DAUNIS AUERS (University of Latvia)
After Communism is a collection of essays by distinguished academics edited by Donald R. Kelley (Director of the Ful-bright Institute of International Relations at the University of Arkansas). It aims to ‘provide an assessment of the face of democratic reforms that occurred in Russia and Eastern Europe a decade ago’ (p. 2). The book begins with two theoretical chapters: the first, authored by Kelley, presents a theoretical overview of ‘con-solidology’, while the second, thoughtful contribution from Valerie Bunce presents four lessons drawn from the twenty seven comparative post-communist democratizations in the region, and their theoretical implications. The following chapters are country or regional studies concentrating on different aspects of transition ranging from institutional development (Thomas F. Remington) to the creation of national identity (Raymond Taras) in post-communist Russia. The contributions from Jack Bielasiak (on the continuing weaknesses of post-communist party systems) and Gregory Gleason (comparative democratization in central Asia) are particularly valuable.
This book is clearly written, well-edited and serves as an important addition to the already large body of academic research on the post-communist transition. However, only two of the ten chapters (excluding the brief general introduction from Donald Kelley which is confusingly listed as Chapter 1) are comparative studies, while five focus on Russia. This means that the complexity and diversity of the transition to democracy in the countries of east-central Europe, the three Baltic States and the other post-Soviet nations is barely touched on. As a result, rather than a benchmark of post-communist democratic consolidation, the book is better seen as an eclectic collection of interesting chapters that reveal the diversity of research in this dynamic field of political science.
New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2003, 232, £19.99, ISBN 0 19 565864 7
Reviewer: ALISTAIR MCMILLAN (Nuffield College, Oxford)
This is a collection of essays examining the nature and context of Indian politics. The book is presented in three parts, the first containing two chapters dealing with the concept of the state and its development in modern Indian history. Nandy argues that the western concept of the nation-state is flawed, and its weaknesses have contributed to the lack of political development in countries such as India; imposing an abstract rationale and institutional structure which sought to over-ride the traditional political culture of the country.
Part II deals with the relationship of culture and the state, opening with Nandy's Anti-Secularist Manifesto. This essay suggests that the denial of any formal expression for religious belief, under the political system developed after Indian Independence, distorted the relationship between politics and religion. This suppression of religion, under the guise of secularism, is, according to Nandy, a reason for the growth of a militant and intolerant Hindu nationalism. This is a powerful and controversial essay, which has been criticised for mistakenly attributing the horrendous communal violence of recent Indian history to the supposed intolerance of the secular state.
Nandy seeks to combat such a critique in his next chapter, which examines the character of modern Hindu Nationalism. He suggests that the Hindutva ideology is based on a Brahminical, middle-class, and urban strain of Hinduism, which has taken a pathological but artificial hold over the politicisation of religion. Part II concludes with a broader exploration of the culture of the Indian state, and an essay on terrorism in the South Asian context.
Part III contains three essays on the impact of developmentalism on Indian society, offering a cultural and ecological critique of the implementation of the concept of development in South Asia. These are interesting, but show up the slightly scattergun nature of a collection of essays; and weaken the coherence and continuity that would have come from a monograph.
Nandy's work provides an erudite critique of the background and practical implementation of key political concepts. Whilst Nandy sets out a subversive agenda, his analysis often betrays an underlying conservatism (recognised in his acknowledgement of the influence of Oakeshott, Thoreau, and Gandhi (p. 5)). The distaste for modern ‘rational’ political solutions is underpinned by an appeal to a political system which recognises the real underlying traditions and cultures of the people; but the means of identifying such beliefs and implementing such a system are vague. However, his work stands as a stimulating reflection on the culture, theory, and practice of politics of India.
Cambridge: Polity Press, 2003, 256, £50.00, ISBN 0 7456 2371 9
Readership: Advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, professional
Rating: *****
Reviewer: ROMINA MIORELLI (London School of Economics)
As the authors put it in the introduction, this book examines Latin America ‘in terms of concepts and categories that are central to mainstream political science’ (p. 1). The authors successfully combine a succinct, but nevertheless comprehensive, historical account of Latin American politics and society with key theoretical questions such as power and authority, accountability and legitimacy, participation, contestation and civil rights and also the quality of democracy. Without denying the historical and cultural specificity of the region, they analyse it using universal categories that refer to the institutional, economic and social aspects of governance. They adopt a comparative approach and deal with the problems of democratic government in Latin America that have long occupied analysts of transition and consolidation of democracy. Unlike typical analyses of these issues, they propose to look at both actors and interests, on the one hand, and political institutions and legal frameworks, on the other.
In line with their theoretical claims, the book includes chapters that look at the nature of power and the historical relationship between citizens and governments in the region; others that refer to more traditional institutionalist analyses that regard constitutions, political parties, presidentialism and elections; and, finally, chapters that deal with the social aspects of governance, like rights – both political and social – social movements, indigenous peoples and minorities. The book is hence organised around theoretical thematics rather than countries or sub-regions. This is indeed a novelty not merely in terms of how the information is organised but also because this allows the authors to look deeper into particular debates. Although the book does not strictly refer to all countries in Latin America, not a prerequisite for books organised by country either, it provides a wide range of examples that illustrate the arguments, including cases from Central, South America and also Cuba. An excellent resource for undergraduates and those new to the study of the area but also a useful example of how to combine theory and empiria that can be of interest for more advanced students.
Cambridge MA: MIT Press, 2004, 354, £15.95, ISBN 0 262 63243 8
Readership: Postgraduates, academic/research
Rating: ****
Reviewer: MATTEO FUMAGALLI (University of Edinburgh)
While the majority of studies on Turkish foreign policy tend to look at the country's post-Cold War activism in relation to its Kemalist past of caution and limited involvement in international affairs, this volume explores the way ahead, in terms of the country's challenges and opportunities. The contributors seek answers to two main questions: what the critical issues the Turkish Republic will face in the coming years will be; and what perspectives policy-makers will adopt to shape the country's conduct (p. 4).
Turkey's foreign-policy-making is a ‘three-dimensional exercise’ (p. 338), understanding it requires taking into account the country's philosophical foundations, its pursuit of geostrategic interests, and the existence of unsolved domestic questions of identity and security. Each chapter discusses the various challenges awaiting the Turkish Republic: water and energy issues; the process of European integration; the (re-definition of the) partnership with the United States; the ‘competitive co-operation’ with Russia; and the relations with its neighbouring states. One must also consider the transformation Turkish society is undergoing ‘at home’, with respect to the place of Islam in society and politics, minority rights, and civil-military relations.
The country's position at a crossroads of several regional systems is what makes it so strategically significant on the one hand, and what causes a series of dilemmas to its policy-makers on the other. If Turkey seeks to untangle one issue, it risks jeopardizing other long-held partnerships. Eventually one gets the impression that the country's leadership muddles through rather than making hard and decisive choices. Turkey's behaviour during the Iraq war seems to support this claim.
What this insightful and timely volume (the contributions have been updated to cover the aftermath of the 2003 Iraq war) suggests is that for Turkey to deal successfully with these multi-dimensional challenges ‘new thinking and creative and resourceful strategies’ are required (p. 323). While no doors are closed in a definitive manner, the editors question whether or not Turkey can realise its ‘full potential’ as a regional power (p. 336).
London: Zed Books, 2003, 212, £15.95, ISBN 1 84277 161 2
Readership: Advanced undergraduates
Rating: ***
Reviewer: FRED H. LAWSON (Mills College, USA)
Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia provide a perfect laboratory in which to investigate one of the key questions driving current scholarship in Middle East politics: why have authoritarian regimes proven so resilient in this part of the world? In each of these countries, an initial wave of political liberalization was followed by marked reversals in the regime's tolerance for public expression and popular mobilization, which led to the reinstatement of widespread repression. Nevertheless, there were important differences in timing and trajectory across the three cases. In Morocco, resistance to authoritarianism enjoyed a long history before the moment of liberalization and was never really crushed afterwards, producing a peculiar kind of stability (others might say stagnation) in domestic affairs (chapter 5). In Algeria, by contrast, sudden liberalization accompanied the rise of a powerful Islamist movement, and the military's quick reversion to a brutal form of authoritarian rule produced a protracted and bloody civil war (chapter 4). Tunisia illustrates a third way: liberalization also took place in the context of a growing Islamic movement, but the regime's gradual and subtle re-imposition of severe restrictions on political activity, free speech and other civil liberties culminated in the (re)emergence of a pervasive and firmly-grounded dictatorship (chapters 1–3). Garon offers a sobering catalogue of the techniques and strategies whereby authoritarian actors overwhelmed liberal democratic openings throughout North Africa in the early 1990s.
Garon distances herself from those who claim that authoritarian tendencies lie inherently in the doctrines and practices of Islam (chapter 10). Her alternative explanation seems to be that some combination of external interference (pp. 198–200), bad reporting (chapters 7–9) and tactical mistakes on the part of local reformers (the ‘dangerous alliances’ of the title) undermined the liberal experiments. But it is hard to tell; one might have expected a professor of political communication to write a bit more clearly. Perhaps the French original is an easier and more cogent read.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003, 724, ISBN 0 521 82216 5
Readership: Advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, academic/research, professional
Rating: ****
Reviewer: JOHN MCDONALD (University of Ballarat, Australia)
The Cambridge Handbook of Social Sciences in Australia is a tome that summarises social science knowledge about Australia. The editors’ central aim is to present a comprehensive summary and assessment about our state of knowledge of Australian society as we enter the twenty-first century. In doing so, the book seeks to profile Australia's distinctive research culture and celebrate its innovative contributions to understanding universal problems. The brief introductory chapter surveys the development of, and identifies emerging issues for, the social sciences in Australia. With contributions from 49 leading academics, the handbook contains 37 chapters divided into three main disciplinary parts: economics; political science; and sociology. Chapters are devoted to broad research fields including privatisation, labour market and industrial relations, interest groups and social movements, political economy, patterns of social inequality, and urban and regional sociology. The targeted readership for the book is broad: it is intended for advanced undergraduates and postgraduates, academics and professionals.
In its disciplinary reach and coverage of issues, this book breaks new ground for the social sciences in Australia. The chapters are consistently well written. The writers demonstrate command of their topic and generally succeed in moving beyond straightforward summaries of our research knowledge. The better chapters explicitly and critically evaluate how the social sciences have informed public debate and shaped policy, programs and practice in Australia. However, the editors’ decision to divide the book into three disciplinary parts retards the potential for interdisciplinary research – which they acknowledge is ‘a major priority for the social sciences’ (p. 11). A very different book would have resulted had the parts been organised thematically around common topics such as health, the environment, and public and social policy. In focusing primarily on empirical research findings, the book lacks chapters on theory and methodology. There are chapters on political and sociological theory, but not one on economics. Additional chapters could also have highlighted Australian innovations in research methodologies, methods and data analysis techniques. Aside from this, it is a landmark publication.
New York: Columbia University Press, 2004, 173, £20.00, ISBN 0 231 13062 7
Readership: Academic/research, professional
Rating: ****
Reviewer: CHANDRA D. BHATTA (London School of Economics)
In this book, Chatterjee primarily deals with ‘popular politics’ and ‘political society’ both from a historical point of view as well as their use in the present day politics. He, however, mainly focuses on India in general and Calcutta (West Bengal) in particular. His ‘popular politics’ covers issues such as ‘untouchablity’; the contradictions of secularism; the state of Indian cities and makes an interesting connection as to how these factors have influenced the day-to-day ‘politics’ that rests on ‘popular sovereignty’.
The author reflects on components such as civil society and state, citizenship and rights issues that makes everyday headlines in the ‘political society’. Having used the term ‘popular politics’ the author also explains how ‘democracy’ has been (mis) interpreted by leaders who try to have their influence imposed upon the ‘governed’ in order to meet their vested interests. Chatterjee insists that democracy today is not government of, by and for the people. Rather it should be seen as politics of the governed (p. 4).
Chatterjee raises the profound issue of how poor people have to confront state machinery for their livelihood. He offers a classic example of squatters and hut dweller's lives in Calcutta and portrays how the different government and political parties have used these slum dwellers as the ‘vote banker’. In the case of politics of the governed, Chatterjee tries to show ‘alongside the abstract promise of popular sovereignty, people in most of the world are devising new ways in which they can choose how they should be governed’. To him, this in turn will ‘help to learn their governors as how they would prefer to be governed’ (pp. 77–8).
The volume succeeds in establishing linkages between the two much discussed issues in the book: ‘political society’ and the ‘popular politics’. This is a good piece of work and could be useful for those who are interested in ‘popular politics’; ‘politics of the governed’ and political history in India. The book does establish the theoretical linkage with case studies but its focus only on India makes the title of the book incomplete.
London: Institute of Latin American Studies, 2003, 266, £14.95, ISBN 1 900039 52 4
Readership: Undergraduates, advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, academic/research, professional
Rating: ****
Reviewer: MICHAEL BYERS (University of British Columbia)
This compact collection provides a comprehensive assessment of the legal, political and historical context surrounding the 1998 detention of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. A multilingual bibliography provides an additional resource for anyone seeking to understand this landmark event, as well as the extradition proceedings and diplomatic machinations that subsequently led to Pinochet's release.
Four of the twelve chapters focus on Chile. The best of these, by Alan Angell of Oxford University, examines the history of the ‘Pinochet factor’ and explains why the arrest was so easily accepted by the Chilean military, business and political elites. Another excellent chapter, by Carlos Huneeus of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, considers the consequences for politics in that Latin American country. Two chapters focus on the law and politics of the Pinochet case in the United Kingdom, with Diana Woodhouse of Oxford Brookes University providing a particularly cogent explanation of the legal proceedings. And a chapter by Carlos Malamud of the Real Instituto Elcano de Estudios Interna-cionales y Estratégicos in Madrid usefully exposes the role played by Spanish public opinion in supporting the extradition request.
Not content with simply chronicling and analyzing the ‘Pinochet Case’, the book also considers its wider impact on other national systems and international law. A superb chapter by Naomi Roht-Arriaza of the Hastings College of Law, University of California, reveals that the case had almost immediate consequences in other Latin American countries struggling to grapple with authoritarian pasts. Some of the remaining chapters are less successful in this enterprise, though predictive analysis is always difficult. And an early chapter by Chilean lawyer Juan E. Garc,s is little more than a polemic against Henry Kissinger and, as such, fits uncomfortably within the book. On the whole, however, the volume successfully captures many of the multiple facets of an important event in humanity's ongoing struggle for justice and truth.
Baltimore MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003, 267, £30.50, ISBN 0 8018 7046 1
Reviewer: MAXINE MOLYNEUX (Institute for the Study of the Americas, London)
Scholarly opinion on Cuba has long been divided as to whether the revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power inaugurated an exceptional regime, one different in key respects to the variants of state socialism that appeared elsewhere in the world. The claims advanced in support of Cuban exceptionalism include its origins in a popular, nationalist and democratic revolution, its high degree of popular participation, its relatively lower levels of human rights violations, its tropicalismo and the inimitable character of its long serving leader. Most strikingly, the Cuban revolution survived the collapse of its strategic ally and patron in 1989, and the severe economic crisis which that occasioned. A decade and a half on, the Cuban economy has made a partial recovery, survived a toughening of US sanctions against it, resisted international calls for political reform, and has as yet experienced no major challenge to its power from its much tried population.
López attempts to account for the (to him) perplexing durability of the Castro regime. He draws on empirical and historical data to dismiss the various claims for Cuban exceptionalism, and argues that popular discontent is escalating to the point where a democratic revolution, similar to those of Eastern Europe could, and should occur. The reasons why it has not are sought in the weakness of Cuban civil society, the effectiveness of state repression, and the paucity of independent means of communication. Cubans he says, simply do not believe that an uprising against the government would succeed. López blames the Clinton administration for having failed to do more to encourage a democratic transition, and at the time of the book's completion, a distracted Bush continued the policy of neglecting Cuba.
The views expressed in this book are often heard in Miami – itself not sufficient to discredit them in their entirety. But invoking more US involvement is a questionable option on many grounds, not least because it is counterproductive. US support for oppositional currents over four decades has only weakened the position of those Cubans who desire democratisation. There is discontent on the island, and there are many who hold the government culpable for passing up its opportunity to democratise in the mid 1990s. But any longing for capitalist freedoms is tempered by three factors: fears of the price to be paid; Cuban nationalism (which López too readily dismisses on the basis of a somewhat biased poll); and by the security provided by the tattered but still effective safety net that is the Cuban welfare state. Today most Cubans speak not of democratic revolution as the means to achieve change but of the factor biologico, Castro's age and declining health, that will determine if not the character, then the certainty and the moment of transition.
Other Areas
New books received
Catherine Cook, Adam Hanieh, Adah Kay (2004) Stolen Youth: the politics of Israel's detention of Palestinian children. London: Pluto Press, 197, £12.99, ISBN 07453 2161 5
Todd A. Eisenstadt (2004) Courting Democracy in Mexico: party strategies and electoral institutions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 354, £50.00, ISBN 0 521 82001 4
Stephen Ellis and Gerrie Ter Haar (2004) Worlds of Power: religious thought and political practice in Africa. London: C. Hurst and Co, 263, £16.50, ISBN 1 85065 734 3
James L. Gibson (2004) Overcoming Apartheid: can truth reconcile a divided nation? New York: Russell Sage, 466, $47.50, ISBN 0 87154 312 5
Richard Gott (2004) Cuba: a new history. New Haven CT: Yale University Press, 384, £18.99, ISBN 0 300 10411 1
Jonathan Harris (2004) Gorbachev's Reform of the Party's Apparat, 1986–1991. Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 179, $65.00, ISBN 0 7425 2678 x
Daniel Heradstveit and Helge Hveem (2004) Oil in the Gulf: obstacle to democracy and development. Aldershot: Ashgate, 190, £45.00, ISBN 0 7546 3968 1
Kathleen Kuehnast and Carol Nechemias (eds) (2004) Post-Soviet Women Encountering Transition: nation building, economic survival and civic activism. Washington DC: Woodrow Wilson Centre Press, 357, ISBN 0 8018 7918 3
Daug Macleod (2004) Downsizing the State: privatisation and the limits of neoliberal reform in Mexico. Philadelphia PA: Penn State University Press, 306, $65.00, ISBN 0 271 02365 1
Charles D. Kenney (2004) Fujimori's Coup and the Breakdown of Democracy in Latin America. Indiana IN: Notre Dame University, 379, $30, ISBN 0 268 03172 X
Michael McFaul, Nikolai Petrov and Andrei Ryabov (2004) Between Dictatorship and Democracy: Russian post-communist political reform. Washington DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 365, $24.95, ISBN 0 87003 206 2
Armelendu Misra (2004) Identity and Politics; foundations of anti-Islamism in India. New Dehli: Sage Publications, 262, ISBN 0 7619 3227 5
Rana Mitter and Patrick Major (2004) Across the Blocs: Cold War cultural and social history. London: Frank Cass, 184, $29.40, ISBN 0 7146 8464 3
Monoranjan Mohanty (2004) Readings in Indian Government and Politics: class, state, gender. New Delhi: Sage Publications, 439, ISBN 0 7619 9643 5
Mazin B. Qumsiyeh (2004) Sharing the Land Of Canaan: human rights of the Israeli-Palestinian struggle. London: Pluto Press, 236, £14.99, ISBN 07453 2248 4
Ali Riaz (2004) God Willing: the politics of Islamism in Bangladesh. Lanham MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 210, $28,95, ISBN 0 7425 3085 X
Maria Guadalupe Moog Rodrigues (2004) Global Environmentalism and Local Politics: transnational advocacy networks in Brazil, Ecuador and India. Albany NY: State University of New York Press, 207, $18.95, ISBN 0 7914 5878 4
Kenneth C. Shadlen (2004) Democratization Without Representatives: the politics of small industry in Mexico. Philadelphia PA: Penn State University Press, 208, $65.00, ISBN 0 271 02391 0
Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and Shankar Raghuraman (2004) A Time of Coalitions: divided we stand. New Delhi: Sage, 413, ISBN 0 7619 3237 2
Dmitri V. Trenin and Aleksei V. Malashenko (2004) Russia's Restless Frontier: the Chechnya factor in post-soviet Russia. Washington DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 265, $24.85, ISBN 0 87003 203 8
Jack Vowles, Peter Aimer, Susan Banducci, Jeffrey Karp and Raymond Miller (eds) (2004) Voter's Veto: the 2002 election in New Zealand and the consolidation of minority government. Auckland: Auckland University Press, 265, NZ$49.99, ISBN 1 86940 309 6
Rajendra Vora and Suhas Palshikar (2004) Indian Democracy: meanings and practices. New Delhi: Sage, 447, ISBN 0 7619 9790 3
Kerim Yildiz (2004) The Kurds in Iraq: the past, present and future. London: Pluto Press, 238, £14.99, ISBN 0 7453 2228 X
Chitralekha Zutshi (2004) Languages of Belonging: Islam, regional identity and the making of Kashmir. London: Hurst & Company, 359, ISBN 1 85065 700 9