Challenges to Democratization in Post-Soviet Societies: Comparing Elite and Citizen Perspectives

9411643米勒这个项目继续并扩大了研究人员早先对三个前苏联加盟共和国的研究调查。许多后苏联领导人宣称的目标是实现他们国家的民主化。因此，民主化进程以及有效的国家结构的发展是本研究的理论重点。在处理这项任务时，调查人员首先着眼于民主化的结构理论，然后再着眼于工具理论，以努力了解后共产主义制度成功应对其目前面临的无数民主化挑战的可能性。结构理论家专注于民主的先决条件，如社会经济发展和支持性的大众价值观，有助于指出社会因素在促进或制约民主发展方面的重要性，但这些理论往往缺乏足够的证据基础。工具主义研究虽然强调了相互竞争的精英之间的斗争在决定政治最终结构方面的重要性，但在很大程度上是基于案例研究，因此缺乏可概括的结果。目前的项目通过提供新的理论和分析重点，并提供从其先前对目前处于过渡过程中的社会进行的跨国和纵向研究中获得的新的经验证据，将结构性和工具主义方法结合起来。调查员将通过分析建立强有力的政府机构所必需的因素来加强这两种方法-认识到向民主的成功过渡需要同时建立民主程序和有效的政府。有两个因素尤其限制了国家的有效发展--这些社会中相互竞争的国家身份突出，以及当局机构相对缺乏合法性。当公民将他们的政治参与建立在他们的种族认同上时，当种族群体因不信任、怀疑和怨恨而分离时，利用公民取向就变得特别关键。研究人员将研究将政治权力下放到种族地区领土和促进优惠待遇计划是否有助于减少基于种族的冲突，并增强稳定民主的可能性。此外，研究人员认为，在转型时期，公民对政治领导人、机构以及政治和经济改革的支持程度至关重要。通过采访公民，这项研究将从公民的角度评估政府如何有效地满足人民的需求。这项研究将允许决策者的取向与他们所服务的选民之间的直接联系。

9411643 Miller This project continues and extends the investigator's earlier survey of research in three former republics of the Soviet Union. The stated goal of many post-Soviet leaders is the democratization of their countries. Thus, the process of democratization as well as the development of effective state structures is the theoretical focus of this investigation. In addressing this task, the investigators look first to structural and then to instrumental theories of democratization in an effort to understand the likelihood that post-Communist systems will be successful in dealing with the myriad challenges to democratization they currently face. The structural theorists, with their concentration on such prerequisites for democracy as socio-economic development and supportive mass values are helpful in pointing up the importance of societal factors in contributing to or constraining the development of democracy, but these theories tend to be lacking in the provision of an adequate evidentiary base. The instrumentalist studies, while highlighting the importance of struggles between competing elites in determining the ultimate structure of politics, are for the most part based upon case studies and therefore lacking generalizable outcomes. The current project integrates the structural and instrumentalist approaches by offering a new theoretical and analytical focus and by providing new empirical evidence drawn from their earlier cross-national and longitudinal studies of societies currently in the process of transition. The investigators will augment the two approaches by incorporating an analysis of factors necessary for the establishment of strong governmental institutions - - recognizing that a successful transition to democracy requires the concurrent establishment of democratic procedures together with effective government. Two factors in particular have limited effective state development - - the salience of competing national identities within these societies and the relative lack of legitimacy enjoyed by the institutions of authority. Tapping into citizen orientations becomes especially critical when citizens come to base their political participation in their ethnic identity, and when ethnic groups are separated by feelings of distrust, suspicion, and resentment. The researchers will study whether the devolution of political power to ethno-regional territories and the promotion of preferential treatment programs serves to decrease ethnic-based conflict and enhance the possibilities for stable democracy. In addition, the researchers argue that the degree of citizen support for political leaders, institutions, and both political and economic reform is critical during times of transition. By interviewing citizens the study will provide an assessment from the perspective of the citizen as to how effectively the government is meeting the needs of the people. The study will allow for a direct linkage between the orientations of the decision-makers and the constituencies they are meant to serve.