№ 1 - 2001
Gelman V.Ya.
Post-Soviet Regime Transformations: toward a Theory Building

The study — within the complex of theories of comparative political science — of certain separate aspects of post-Soviet countries’ political evolution opens before the researchers substantial possibilities for the augmentation of knowledge. However, the disposable democratization models prove to be insufficient to enable adequate analysis of the transformations of the political regimes in respective societies. Pointing to the necessity of further steps in developing the “research cycle” of studying post-Soviet politics, the author raises a number of questions related to the democracy and democratization concepts and attempts to find out what are the answers in the light of the political development experience of the countries that have emerged on the territory of the former USSR. In his article, the author has: (a) considered cognitive prospects of the models of democracy in post-Soviet society; (b) analyzed the explanation capacities of different approaches to the study of democratization; (c) defined specific characteristics of the transformation process that political regimes in post-USSR undergo; (d) formulated some propositions on how (and, partly, why) there is the formation of political competition and of political institutions going on in the post-Soviet expanse. In conclusion, the author shares his considerations about the researchers’ agenda and about new tasks facing the researchers.