Tainted Transitions The Historical Legacy of Imperialism and the Failure of Democratization in the Caucasus

Date of Award

2004

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Hicks, Barbara

Keywords

Democratization, Imperialism, Russia and the Caucasus

Area of Concentration

Political Science

Abstract

The collapse of communism in the Soviet Union was a cause for celebration in much of the West and many believed that a new era of democracy would spread throughout the region. With a few exceptions, this has not been the case. Instead, various forms of authoritarian regimes have risen from the ashes of Soviet communism, preventing full transitions to democracy. Debate continues in the field of political science over why most of the former Soviet republics were unable to complete the transition to democracy. Nationalism and weak or inappropriate government institutions are convincing arguments for the failure of democratization, but these are symptoms and not the root cause of the problem. This thesis explains the failure of democratization in part of the former Soviet Union as an outcome of the lingering effects of Russian and Soviet imperialism. Case studies of the Caucasus countries of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan examine how the colonialism that these states had experienced throughout the course of history undermined the development of democratic institutions after independence.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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