This 2002 study examines the process by which the seemingly impossible in 1987 - the disintegration of the Soviet state - became the seemingly inevitable by 1991, providing an original interpretation not only of the Soviet collapse, but also of the phenomenon of nationalism more generally. Probing t...

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Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Beissinger, Mark R. (Author)
Format:	Electronic eBook
Language:	English
Published:	Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2002
Series:	Cambridge studies in comparative politics
Subjects:	Nationalismus Politik Nationalism / Soviet Union Auflösung Regionalpolitik Sowjetunion Soviet Union / Politics and government / 1985-1991 Soviet Union / Ethnic relations / Political aspects
Online Access:	DE-12 DE-473 Volltext
Summary:	This 2002 study examines the process by which the seemingly impossible in 1987 - the disintegration of the Soviet state - became the seemingly inevitable by 1991, providing an original interpretation not only of the Soviet collapse, but also of the phenomenon of nationalism more generally. Probing the role of nationalist action as both cause and effect, Beissinger utilizes data and case studies from across the USSR during its final years to elicit the shifting relationship between pre-existing structural conditions, institutional constraints, and event-generated influences in the nationalist explosions that brought about the collapse of the Soviet Union. As Beissinger demonstrates, the 'tidal' context of nationalism - i.e., the transnational influence of one nationalism upon another - is critical to an explanation of the success and failure of particular nationalisms, why some nationalisms turn violent, and how a crescendo of events can overwhelm states, periodically evoking large-scale structural change in the character of the state system
Item Description:	Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015)
Physical Description:	1 online resource (xv, 503 pages)
ISBN:	9780511613593
DOI:	10.1017/CBO9780511613593