Civil Society and the Russian Democratic Transition
Year: 2013
Type: preprint
Abstract: There has been much discussion in scholarly literature as to whether or not civil society exists in Russia. Some argue that, due to its totalitarian past, Russia lacks the networks of interpersonal trust and state-independent voluntary organizations necessary for the emergence of a vibrant civil society. Others find that the inflexibility and inertia which citizens encounter in political institutions has resulted in a new form of civil society with greater emphasis on smaller units of cooperation between family and friends. However, it turns out to be no simple matter to determine who is right. Even a fleeting glance at the literature makes clear that no clear conception of civil society exists. This paper seeks to transcend this war of words by approaching the problem in a different way. There may be no consensus as to a definition of civil society. Yet it would not be difficult to reach agreement on some set of regimes that would be widely, ir not universally recognized as possessing a vital civil society. Civil society refers to a significant measure of autonomy from government. Where civil society is robust, society or parts of it mobilize to resist and oppose attempts of governments to exceed established boundaries of legitimacy. Such boundaries may differ from one society to another. So may be the mechanisms by which society resists illegitimate government incursions. However, regimes under which society regularly demonstrates its autonomy can be identified. Their typical government-resisting behaviour can be observed and objectively described. We will attempt to assess the state of civil society in Russia by keeping such regimes in view.
Source: SSRN Electronic Journal
Authors: Фред Эйдлин, Lisa Post
Institution: Charles University
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2274014388