Paperback : £23.74
Why do some state building efforts succeed when others fail? Using newly available archival sources, this book presents a new explanation for the rise and subsequent collapse of the Soviet state. The study explains how personal networks and elite identity served as informal sources of power that influenced state strength. Reconstructing the State also offers new interpretations of how the weak Bolshevik state extended its reach to a vast rural and multi-ethnic periphery as well as the dynamics of the center-regional conflict in the 1930s that culminated in the Great Terror.
Why do some state building efforts succeed when others fail? Using newly available archival sources, this book presents a new explanation for the rise and subsequent collapse of the Soviet state. The study explains how personal networks and elite identity served as informal sources of power that influenced state strength. Reconstructing the State also offers new interpretations of how the weak Bolshevik state extended its reach to a vast rural and multi-ethnic periphery as well as the dynamics of the center-regional conflict in the 1930s that culminated in the Great Terror.
Preface; 1. Introduction: explaining state-building outcomes and the Soviet Russian case; Part I. Structure and Identity in the Post-Revolutionary State Elite: 2. Anatomy of a regional elite: the rise of the provincial Komitetchiki; 3. Constructing an elite identity: images of self, service and state; Part II. Informal Sources of Power in the Post-Revolutionary State: 4. Extending the reach of the state: personal networks and territorial administration; 5. The constraints of power: personal networks and central rulership; Part III. Intrastate Conflict and the Constraints of Power Redefined: 6. Center and regions in conflict I: collectivization and the crisis of regional leadership; 7. Center and regions in conflict II: the fall of the provincial Komitetchiki; 8. Conclusion: state building and the Soviet Russian case reconsidered; Notes; Bibliography; Index.
Using archival sources, this book presents an explanation for the rise and subsequent collapse of the Soviet state.
"Easter's superb study illuminates the heretofore underappreciated role of regional elite networks in the evolution of the Soviet state. This lucidly written book is a fine political history embedded in a sophisticated and useful theoretical framework. It is an important contribution to political science and Soviet history." Zoltan Barany, University of Texas, Austin "This slender but well-researched volume seeks to provide new perspectives for understanding the collapse of the Soviet Union...Not the least of this volume's virtues is that it is not the final word about Krushchev but provides future scholars with a wealth of thoughtful insights and a superbly rich range of archival and bibliographical sources from which to begin further studies into Krushchev's policies, achievements, and errors." Slavic Reviews "Reconstructing the state makes a contribution to the study of state building in the Soviet Union... Although the book will be of primary benefit to area specialists, its lessons are also important for generalists in comparative politics and international relations. Easter's well-researched study reminds us that both formal and informal instutions play critical roles in building the political capacity of new states." International Politics
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