Labour and Political Transformation in Russia and Ukraine FROM THE PUBLISHER
In examining labour's relationship to the Soviet state, the role played by workers in the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the subsequent political evolution of independent Russia and Ukraine, this books strengths lay in the originality of the methodology employed together with the scope of analysis. It offers a coherent analysis of the important issues of Soviet-type systems, the place of labor within them, a critique of the dominant paradigm for analysis of regime change, a challenge of the view that Russia and Ukraine have established capitalist systems, and a survey of labour's relations with the state and enterprise management. This well-written text will grab the reader's attention, especially those from political science backgrounds, both students and those in academe, and industrial relations for courses on labour or comparative studies.
FROM THE CRITICS
Booknews
Simon (Nottingham Trent U., UK) presents a revised version of his doctoral dissertation, written in 1990 at the U. of Birmingham. Simon departs from other interpretations of the process of democratization by focusing closely on the role of labor, one which he shows was crucial to the popular movement that brought down the Soviet regime. The study continues by examining labor's role in the subsequent process of democratization in Russia and Ukraine, and the ways the new systems differ from mainstream capitalist practice. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)