Out of Order : : Russian Political Values in an Imperfect World / / Ellen Carnaghan.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Penn State University Press Complete eBook-Package Pre-2014
• VerfasserIn: Carnaghan, Ellen,
• Place / Publishing House: University Park, PA : : Penn State University Press, , [2021]; ©2007
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (344 p.)

One common explanation for the failure of democracy to take root in Russia more quickly and more thoroughly than it has points to inherited cultural values that predispose Russian citizens to favor an autocratic type of governance. Ellen Carnaghan takes aim at this cultural-determinist thesis in her study of Russian attitudes, based on intensive interviews with more than sixty citizens from all walks of life and a variety of political orientations. What she finds is that, rather than being influenced by an antidemocratic and anticapitalist ideology, these ordinary citizens view the economic and political system in Russia today very critically because it simply does not function well for them in meeting their everyday needs. They long for order not because they eschew democracy and free markets in any fundamental way, but because they experience them currently as chaotic and unpredictable, leading to constant frustration. As a result, there is reason to be optimistic about further progress in democratization: it depends on improving the functioning of existing institutions, not transforming deep-rooted cultural norms. In the Conclusion, Carnaghan applies her argument to elucidating the reasons why Russians have responded favorably to what Westerners see as moves in an antidemocratic direction by Vladimir Putin's government.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Tables -- Acknowledgments -- A Note on Transliteration -- 1 Out of Order -- 2 The Tangled Web of Culture -- 3 Russians in Their Own Words -- 4 Abstract Notions of Democracy Versus Current Experiences -- 5 Views of Markets: Russians Confront Inequality -- 6 Views on Order, Disorder, and Democracy -- 7 Views of Change: The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same -- 8 What Russians Want -- 9 Conclusion -- Appendixes -- References -- Index