Full Description
This book seeks to "re-think democracy." Over the past years, there has been a tendency in the global policy community and, even more widely, in the world's media, to focus on democracy as the "gold standard" by which all things political are measured. This book re-examines democracy in Russia and in the world more generally, as idea, desired ideal, and practice. A major issue for Russia is whether the modernization of Russia might not prosper better by Russia focusing directly on modernization and not worrying too much about democracy. This book explores a wide range of aspects of this important question. It discusses how the debate is conducted in Russia; outlines how Russians contrast their own experiences, unfavourably, with the experience of China, where reform and modernization have been pursued with great success, with no concern for democracy; and concludes by assessing how the debate in Russia is likely to be resolved.
Contents
Introduction Part I: General Theory of Democracy 1. Democracy and Rights: the Greatest Dilemma of Our Times Daniel Bell 2. Democracy as Spectre, Dream and Reality John Dunn 3. "Universal Value" at its "Natural Limit"? Vladislav Inozemtsev 4. From Agora to the Marketplace - Whereto from Here? Zygmunt Bauman 5. Transitional Economies and the Commodification of Democracy Piotr Dutkiewicz 6. Overturning the Authoritarian Majority - Not an Easy Task Mark UrnovPart II: Realities of Democratization 7. From the 19th to the 21st Century Democracy: What is Next Step? Alexei Miller 8. Democracy in China: Challenge or Opportunity? Yu Keping 9. Democracy and How it is used in Russia Gleb Pavlovsky 10. Democracy and Dissatisfaction Ivan KrastevPart III: Democracy and Modernization 11. Modernization and Democracy Ronald Inglehart 12. Democratization and Modernization in the Context of the Transformation of Post-Soviet States Andrei Ryabov 13. Democracy vs. Efficiency: The Challenge of the 21st Century Parag Khanna 14. From Authoritarianism to Democracy along the Paths of Modernization: From the General to the Specific Victor Krasilshchikov 15. Market-States and Post-Democracy Adrian PabstPart IV: Democracy in the World 16. Less Means More: the Moral Virtue of Political Minimalism Amitai Etzioni 17. Hope for Global Democracy as a Challenge to the 21st Century Daniele Archibugi 18. Democracy in the Era of Limited Sovereignty Ekaterina Kuznetsova 19. New Debates over Global Democracy and International Democracy Promotion Thomas Carothers
