Title The politics of institutional choice : the formation of the Russian State Duma / Steven S. Smith and Thomas F. Remington

Published Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, ©2001

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Description 1 online resource (x, 180 pages) : illustrations Series Book collections on Project MUSE Contents Choosing legislative institutions in Russian -- Forming a parliamentary party system -- Creating the council of the Duma -- Setting a framework for party-committee relations -- Choosing an electoral system -- Party discipline in the Russian Duma -- Institutional choice Summary Events in Russia since the late 1980s have created a rare opportunity to watch the birth of democratic institutions close at hand. Here Steven Smith and Thomas Remington provide the first intensive, theoretically grounded examination of the early development of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Federation's parliament created by the 1993 constitution. They offer an integrated account of the choices made by the newly elected members of the Duma in establishing basic operating arrangements: an agenda-setting governing body, a standing committee system, an electoral law, and a party system. Not only do these decisions promise to have lasting consequences for the post-communist Russian regime, but they also enable the authors to test assumptions about politicians' goals from the standpoint of institutional theory. Smith and Remington challenge in particular the notion, derived from American contexts, that politicians pursue a single, overarching goal in the creation of institutions. They argue that politicians have multiple political goals--career, policy, and partisan--that drive their choices. Among Duma members, the authors detect many cross currents of interests, generated by the mixed electoral system, which combines both single-member districts and proportional representation, and by sharp policy divisions and an emerging party system. Elected officials may shift from concentrating on one goal to emphasizing another, but political contexts can help determine their behavior. This book brings a fresh perspective to numerous theories by incorporating first-hand accounts of major institutional choices and placing developments in their actual context Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 169-176) and index Notes Print version record Subject Russia (Federation). Federalʹnoe Sobranie. Gosudarstvennai︠a︡ Duma. SUBJECT Russia (Federation). Federalʹnoe Sobranie. Gosudarstvennai︠a︡ Duma fast Russland Duma. gnd Russie. Douma (1993- ...) ram Russland -- Staatsduma. swd Subject Legislative bodies -- Russia (Federation) Representative government and representation -- Russia (Federation) Legislative bodies -- Russia. POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Government -- Legislative Branch. Legislative bodies Politics and government Representative government and representation Doema. Pouvoir législatif -- Russie. Régime représentatif -- Russie. SUBJECT Russia (Federation) -- Politics and government -- 1991- http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh92006576 Subject Russia Russia (Federation) Russie -- Politique et gouvernement -- 1991-2000. Form Electronic book Author Remington, Thomas F., 1948- LC no. 00044118 ISBN 1400814715 9781400814718 9781400823949 1400823943 9780691057378 0691057370

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