Liberal reform under an illiberal regime. The creation of private property in Russia in 1906–1915.
9.99 €
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Liberal reform under an illiberal regime. The creation of private property in Russia in 1906–1915.
9.99 €
American lawyer Stephen Williams's book details how, beginning in 1906, on the eve of World War I and the catastrophic Revolution, the Russian government undertook what was arguably the most massive "privatization" in history, radically altering the property rights regime under which 90 million peasants lived. The author's study of property rights reforms reveals the strengths and weaknesses of radical reforms aimed at creating a liberal democracy and carried out by a government that can in no way be characterized as either liberal or democratic.
S. Williams seeks answers to the following questions: Can truly liberal reform be successfully implemented "from above," or must it be achieved through grassroots activism, through the formation of social groups that wring concessions from the state? Or is liberal democracy the product of exceptional historical circumstances and cannot be established anywhere but in a small number of countries? The author examines the impact of Stolypin's reform on economic productivity and social relations, as well as the weaknesses of the authoritarian reform process—the political passivity of interested groups, the ambiguity of basic rights, and the risk of relying on half-measures.
S. Williams seeks answers to the following questions: Can truly liberal reform be successfully implemented "from above," or must it be achieved through grassroots activism, through the formation of social groups that wring concessions from the state? Or is liberal democracy the product of exceptional historical circumstances and cannot be established anywhere but in a small number of countries? The author examines the impact of Stolypin's reform on economic productivity and social relations, as well as the weaknesses of the authoritarian reform process—the political passivity of interested groups, the ambiguity of basic rights, and the risk of relying on half-measures.
See also:
- All books by the publisher
- All books by the author
- All books in the series History