Societies and Political Orders in Transition

The 21^st century has witnessed a considerable and increasing number of political revolutions around the world. This contradicts the popular belief of many experts in the 1970s that revolutions occurred mainly in monarchies and empires. Instead, the revolutions of this century have several new characteristics, which call for a renewed analysis of the subject.

This handbook offers a comparative perspective on the new wave of revolutions of the last decade. Presenting case studies on the color revolutions, the Arab revolutions of 2010–2011, and the global wave of revolutions in 2013–2018 that spanned regions ranging from Africa to the Caucasus, it offers a better understanding of the varied forms, features, and historical backgrounds of revolutions, as well as their causes. Accordingly, it highlights recent revolutions in their historical and world-systems contexts.

"Once again, this volume demonstrates the kind of open-minded, systematic analysis that the field of revolutionary studies requires." (Prof. George Lawson, Department of International Relations, Australian National University Canberra)

This book presents a unique analysis of modern Russian provincial society. Based on detailed empirical evidence, it develops a theoretical model of Russian provincial society in the late 20th century and the early 21st century. The book explains how under the conditions of catastrophic changes, Russian provincial societies have undergone a structural transformation. It further sheds light on the transformation of the economic behavior of the population and households with regard to economic practices, crafts, and revived archaic forms of labor behavior.

Summarizing the extensive empirical evidence, the book puts forward the concept of complementarity of two social structures at the local level: a ground "soft communal" structure and a "tightening with an iron hoop" estate state structure. Next, it discusses the stability and resistance of the local social structure to external political disturbances. Based on the presented analysis, the book introduces several independent criteria on the basis of which it establishes the typology of all empirically observed forms of societies. Subsequently, the book identifies six main types of Russian provincial societies. It explains how depending on the type, the different societies either adapt to political and economic changes in different ways, stay unchanged or transform their structure.

The book will appeal to students, scholars, and researchers of economics, political science, sociology, and anthropology, interested in a better understanding of transformation studies, population and household economics, provincial societies, as well as Russian societal structures. 

This book argues that the unresolved stateness in the republics of the former Yugoslavia played a key role in determining the course and dynamics of their turbulent democratic transition. To support this claim, the authors develop a series of causal mechanisms. Subsequently, they analyze to what extent these causal mechanisms could be applied to other cases, like the one of Ukraine’s democratization. 

The book presents a theoretical framework, as well as conclusions and arguments that are instrumental for the better understanding of the democratization process in general, which could be useful for other countries to avoid the mistakes that were made in the cases of former Yugoslav republics. It, therefore, is a must-read for researchers and scholars of political science, as well as practitioners and policy-makers, interested in a better understanding of democratization, transformation processes, nation-building, and stateness. 

This book examines why authoritarian governments are willing to address environmental problems that have an international impact, such as CO2  emissions, but are reluctant to address problems that have only a domestic impact. In a case study of Azerbaijani oil politics, it demonstrates how  the incumbent Azerbaijani regime has taken important measures trying to  address CO2 emissions while ignoring the damage caused by oil pollution on  the Caspian coast. The book argues that resource-rich authoritarian governments are eager to join international environmental initiatives to improve their image, but they address domestic environmental issues mainly if they threaten their hold on power.

This book is an important contribution to scholarship on environmental governance in the post-Soviet space, an area that is poorly researched.  Therefore, it is a must-read for researchers and scholars interested in post-Soviet studies, as well as in the nexusbetween mineral-rich regions  and how social policy is created, e.g., environment, education, and  healthcare. In addition, this book will be of tremendous importance for policymakers and international organizations as it looks into the motivation of authoritarian states in the post-Soviet space for environmental measures.

This book addresses the field of populisms from a contemporary perspective. The book brings a conceptual, qualitative, culturally sensitive and transformative approach to containing populist governance. The authors set out not only examine and compile the most varied conceptual definitions, but also present a theoretical definition in which they recognize a myriad of variable properties of populisms which are strategies commonly used in specific political contexts.

Reading Populisms will certainly contribute to the readers having more conceptual tools to analyze this global phenomenon that threatens the building of democratic constitutionalism as well as to understand how the growth of populism is associated with the weaknesses of liberal democracy.

This book examines the emergence of authoritarian populist regimes, analyzing Brazil as a case study. The authors explain how the tactics employed by the Bolsonaro administration to dismantle bureaucracy and public policies, especially labour and social policies, find expression in the fiscal austerity measures recently inscribed in the Federal Constitution: a counter-democratic device employed by technical and financial elites to systemically derail the social protection system.

Through this in-depth case study, the book presents new theoretical arguments and concepts that can be useful to understand the dynamics of such new regimes, and discussing similar cases in other contexts. Democratic governments in Brazil, driven by social movements and political actors, have strengthened social protection through a distinctive institutional architecture that combines the strengthening of public bureaucracies, the creation of intergovernmental networks, and the democratic instances ofsocial participation and agreement. The contributions throughout this volume analyze these transformations in different sectors of public policy, such as labour, employment, pensions, food and nutrition security, health, and social assistance. Each contribution discusses the recent trajectory through a political analysis of the main actors and institutions, reform processes and policy changes, and the results achieved. Finally, the existing weaknesses in each of these social protection sectors are identified in the context of the literature on policy dismantling, revealing the strategies used to take advantage of these political and institutional weaknesses.

This book will appeal to students, scholars, and researchers of political science and public policy, interested in a better understanding of de-democratization by social policy dismantling.

This book offers a comparative perspective on the technological, economic, and political aspects of Internet development in the post-Soviet countries. In doing so, international experts analyze similarities and differences in various countries throughout the chapters.

The volume consists of two parts. The chapters of the first part examine the post-Soviet area as a whole. The second part includes specific case studies on the development of the Internet, either in individual countries or in groups of countries. Countries analyzed are Estonia, Ukraine, Russia as well as three Central Asian countries: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Topics covered in the volume include, but are not limited to measurement, dynamics, and structure of each national Internet audience; the history of the Internet in the post-Soviet countries; development of infrastructure; Internet regulation and institutional aspects; online markets such as telecommunications, online advertising, e-commerce, and digital content; social and cultural aspects; as well as the transformation of the national media systems. 

This book is a must-read for students, researchers, and scholars of political science and economics, as well as policymakers and practitioners interested in a better understanding of Internet development in the post-Soviet area. 

This book presents an in-depth analysis of Bulgaria's integration into the global economy, analyzing the evolution, current status, and prospects for the country’s positioning in the ever-complex system of international economic relations. The book provides a comprehensive examination of Bulgaria's economic trajectory from its historical development to its current role in the global economy. Presenting important periods throughout Bulgaria's economic evolution, including the planned economy era and the subsequent transition to a market-oriented system, the work analyzes the profound shifts and challenges faced by the country.

The book examines the integration into the European Union, assessing both the benefits and risks associated with this pivotal relationship. Furthermore, it investigates Bulgaria's foreign economic partnerships, analyzing its interplay with major actors such as the USA, China, and Russia. Systematically exploring foreign trade in goods and services, participation in global value chains, foreign direct investment trends, and the complex dynamics of international labor migration, the book is based on rich empirical data and comparative analyses with similar economies.

It addresses emerging trends, with dedicated chapters on green transition, technological advancement, and digital transformation. Finally, the book presents policy implications derived from Bulgaria's experiences and concludes with a forward-looking perspective on enhancing Bulgaria's global economic competitiveness, making it relevant to both academic audiences and policy practitioners.