Ryssland och det civila samhället - ett teorikritiskt analysförsök
Civil SocietyRussiaDemocratizationPost-Communist TransitionSocial CapitalPolitical and administrative sciencesStatsvetenskapFörvaltningskunskapLaw and Political Science
Based on an analytical overview of post-Communist civil society development in Russia, the present thesis attempts a critical discussion of general civil society theory from the perspective of its relevance for the case study in question. The text consists of three closely interconnected, mutually reinforcing parts. In the first part, major issues of current civil society research are being thematically presented and discussed. The second part concerns itself with the case study as such. It is divided into two parts, one dealing with the relations between state and civil society in Russia, the other with civil society and the individual. In the third part a critical discussion of general civil society theory is attempted from the point of view of the preceeding case study.The emerging picture of Russian civil society, not surprisingly, is very mixed. Notwithstanding tremendous growth of independent associational life compared to former levels, state attempts at control continue and estimates of social capital vary greatly.The imperative need to fully take into account the particulars of Russian culture and history, especially its totalitarian and statist heritage, when attempting an analysis of Russia´s civil society is underlined. Some common assumptions of general civil society theory are shown to make little sense in a Russian context.