Out of Order: Russian Political Values in an Imperfect World

摘要

This book deals with the question asked frequently by observers of contemporary Russia, namely whether the growing authoritarianism of the political system in Russia today simply proves that the Russian people are not made for democracy. Carnaghan argues that more recent political developments, together with the existence of imperfect institutions, are the main reasons why the Russian people today still generally support authoritative structures of governance. According to the author, the collapse of the Russian economy and civil institutions, together with the rise of criminality and corruption resulting from this, can be seen to be responsible for the current authoritarianism. Thus, Carnaghan rejects the existence of specific cultural and normative factors; instead, she supports the view that the Russian people are-understandably-looking for more order and stability but not dictatorship.