Cultures of Power in Post-Communist Russia

Offers an original theory of political discourse to analyse how Russian political actors use language.

Auteur

Michael Urban is Professor of Politics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is the author of numerous books including The Rebirth of Politics in Russia (Cambridge University Press, 1997) and Russia Gets the Blues: Music, Culture and Community in Unsettled Times (2004). He has frequently commented on Russian affairs on radio and television in the US, UK and Russia.

Résumé
Using extensive interviews with top Russian political figures, this book identifies a political discourse that enables certain things to be communicated while ruling out others. He shows that Russian elites speak a language that not only militates against mutual understanding and consensus, but encourages authoritarian forms of political power.

Contenu

1. Introduction; 2. Social relations; 3. Community; 4. Morality; 5. Competence; 6. Revolution; 7. Conclusion; Appendix. Sketches of respondents' backgrounds.