"Michael McFaul and Kathryn Stoner-Weiss have edited a stimulating volume in which leading political scientists working on the former Soviet Union demonstrate the utilit of a sophisticated combination of post-Communist area expertise and comparative social science methods. Although the editors describe the book as a 'sampler' of cutting-edge work by top researchers, the volume in fact coheres very nicely around two central themes: state building and regime transition." Political Science Quarterly, Henry E. Hale, George Washington University

• Contributors; Introduction: the evolving social science of post Communism Michael McFaul and Kathryn Stoner-Weiss; 1. The triumph of Nation-States: lessons from the collapse of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia Philip Roeder; 2. The fourth wave of democracy and dictatorship: noncooperative transitions in the post-Communist world Michael McFaul; 3. Circumstances versus policy choices: why has the economic performance of the Soviet successive states been so poor? Vladimir Popov; 4. Whither the Central State? The regional sources of Russia's stalled reforms Kathryn Stoner-Weiss; 5. Parties, citizens, and the prospects for democratic consolidation in Russia Timothy Colton; 6. Comparative democratization: lessons from Russia and the post-Communist World Valerie Bunce; 7. Russians as joiners: realist and liberal conceptions of post-Communist Europe James M. Goldgeier and Michael McFaul; Index.

"Michael McFaul and Kathryn Stoner-Weiss have edited a stimulating volume in which leading political scientists working on the former Soviet Union demonstrate the utilit of a sophisticated combination of post-Communist area expertise and comparative social science methods. Although the editors describe the book as a 'sampler' of cutting-edge work by top researchers, the volume in fact coheres very nicely around two central themes: state building and regime transition." Political Science Quarterly, Henry E. Hale, George Washington University

• Contributors; Introduction: the evolving social science of post Communism Michael McFaul and Kathryn Stoner-Weiss; 1. The triumph of Nation-States: lessons from the collapse of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia Philip Roeder; 2. The fourth wave of democracy and dictatorship: noncooperative transitions in the post-Communist world Michael McFaul; 3. Circumstances versus policy choices: why has the economic performance of the Soviet successive states been so poor? Vladimir Popov; 4. Whither the Central State? The regional sources of Russia's stalled reforms Kathryn Stoner-Weiss; 5. Parties, citizens, and the prospects for democratic consolidation in Russia Timothy Colton; 6. Comparative democratization: lessons from Russia and the post-Communist World Valerie Bunce; 7. Russians as joiners: realist and liberal conceptions of post-Communist Europe James M. Goldgeier and Michael McFaul; Index.

"Michael McFaul and Kathryn Stoner-Weiss have edited a stimulating volume in which leading political scientists working on the former Soviet Union demonstrate the utilit of a sophisticated combination of post-Communist area expertise and comparative social science methods. Although the editors describe the book as a 'sampler' of cutting-edge work by top researchers, the volume in fact coheres very nicely around two central themes: state building and regime transition." Political Science Quarterly, Henry E. Hale, George Washington University

• Contributors; Introduction: the evolving social science of post Communism Michael McFaul and Kathryn Stoner-Weiss; 1. The triumph of Nation-States: lessons from the collapse of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia Philip Roeder; 2. The fourth wave of democracy and dictatorship: noncooperative transitions in the post-Communist world Michael McFaul; 3. Circumstances versus policy choices: why has the economic performance of the Soviet successive states been so poor? Vladimir Popov; 4. Whither the Central State? The regional sources of Russia's stalled reforms Kathryn Stoner-Weiss; 5. Parties, citizens, and the prospects for democratic consolidation in Russia Timothy Colton; 6. Comparative democratization: lessons from Russia and the post-Communist World Valerie Bunce; 7. Russians as joiners: realist and liberal conceptions of post-Communist Europe James M. Goldgeier and Michael McFaul; Index.