PSC 1001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Industrial Relations, Russian Culture, Mikhail Gorbachev
Comparative Systems
Russia
Structure
● Structural changes caused liberalization and democratization → Yeltsin carried out
undemocratic military action against opposers of the parliament, but it created the
stability needed to start a democracy
● Developing economy, urbanization, increased education, followed by stagnation
● Political arrangement made liberalization difficult because of the ethno-federal
arrangement
● Democracy fell apart because of Yeltsin allowing censorship and attacks against political
opponents SINCE 2000
○ Concentration of power in the executive was severe because there were few
checks
○ No political party was established for the democracy so different parties fought
over the authority
○ Economic development didn’t create a middle class
○ Russia had a standing political culture against democracy and this notion was hard
to change
○ Weak prime ministers that saw a lot of turnover, weak elections
○ Oligarch controlled the economy and the people felt economically insecure; they
wanted the government to take over and fix it → response structural conditions;
there is an anti-establishment streak in Russian culture
Choice
● Gorbachev decided to pursue liberalization → couldn’t foresee destabilizing
consequences of his political, economic, mass communication, and IR reforms → undid
the authoritarian system
● The reforms made people see that others were as unhappy as them which led to the fall of
the authoritarian regime
● Both Yeltsin’s party and his opponents didn’t pursue negotiation
● Prefer strong leader over democracy → fewer than 30% of the general population wanted
democracy
Germany
● Transition to the Nazi party → Hitler rose legally
● Institutional factors like proportional representation that dispersed power and encouraged
“catch-all” parties that appealed to many people to rise
● Externally imposed democracy after WWII
● Nation state 1871
● Weimar Republic 1919-1933
● Allied Occupation 1945-1952
India
● Under colonial rule so there was a specific political structure, not much participation of
the masses
Document Summary
Structural changes caused liberalization and democratization yeltsin carried out undemocratic military action against opposers of the parliament, but it created the stability needed to start a democracy. Developing economy, urbanization, increased education, followed by stagnation. Political arrangement made liberalization difficult because of the ethno-federal arrangement. Democracy fell apart because of yeltsin allowing censorship and attacks against political opponents since 2000. Concentration of power in the executive was severe because there were few checks. No political party was established for the democracy so different parties fought over the authority. Economic development didn"t create a middle class. Russia had a standing political culture against democracy and this notion was hard to change. Weak prime ministers that saw a lot of turnover, weak elections. Oligarch controlled the economy and the people felt economically insecure; they wanted the government to take over and fix it response structural conditions; there is an anti-establishment streak in russian culture.
