Constraining Elites in Russia and Indonesia Political Participation and Regime Survival

This is a thought-provoking analysis on why democracy succeeds in some countries but not others, comparing the post-transition experiences of two cases of contemporary democratisation: Russia and Indonesia. Following authoritarian regimes, democracy eroded in Russia but flourished in Indonesia - so confounding dominant theories of democratisation that predicted the opposite outcomes based on their levels of socioeconomic development and histories of statehood. Identifying key behaviours and patterns of political participation as a factor, Lussier interweaves ethnographic interview and quantitative public opinion data to expand our understanding on how mass political participation contributes to a democracy's survival. The integration of both micro- and macro-level data in a single study is one of this project's most significant contributions, and will enhance its appeal to both researchers and instructors.

1. Introduction: activating democracy; 2. Extending democratization theory: the cases of Russia and Indonesia; 3. Elite-constraining participation and democracy's survival; 4. Testing the model: predicting non-voting political participation; 5. Tocqueville revisited: civic skills and social networks; 6. Political efficacy and 'throwing the rascals out'; 7. Political trust and regime legitimacy; 8. Conclusion: political participation and the future of democracy.

Danielle N. Lussier is an assistant professor in political science at Grinnell College, Iowa. Her research focuses on democratisation, public opinion and political participation, and religion and politics, with a particular emphasis on Eurasia and Indonesia. Her work has appeared in Journal of Democracy, Politics and Religion, Problems of Post-Communism, Post-Soviet Affairs, and Slavic Review.