Russia and Globalization: Identity, Security, and Society in an Era of Change
New Book Published by Woodrow Wilson Center Press Analyzes Russia's Developing Identity in Globalization
WASHINGTON—Woodrow Wilson Center Press has published a new book, Russia and Globalization: Identity, Security, and Society in an Era of Change, edited by Douglas W. Blum. It is copublished with the Johns Hopkins University Press.
Russia is a battered giant, struggling to rebuild its power and identity in an era of globalization. Several of the essays in this diverse and original collection point to the difficulty of guaranteeing a stable domestic order due to demographic shifts, economic changes, and institutional weaknesses. Other contributors focus on the country's efforts to respond to the challenges posed by globalization, and discuss the various ways in which Russia is reconceptualizing its role as an international actor. Ambivalence is a recurrent theme, according to editor Douglas W. Blum—ambivalence about globalization's costs and benefits and the efforts required to manage them.
"This volume pools together not only excellent original empirical research, but also new interpretations of the challenges arising from globalization in a specific context of post-Soviet Russia . . . To my knowledge [there is] no single volume that comprehensively covers the key themes of identity and security as part of Russia's globalization. It stands to make a significant contribution to the existing studies."— Mikhail Alexseev, San Diego State University
"The best feature of [Russia and Globalization] may be the boldness of its ambition—to bring together scholars from around the world to write on topics from education to international security, and to focus explicitly on both identity formation and globalization in the Russian context. Because of this approach, the book is able to offer insights into a wide variety of questions of interest to many different types of scholar and policymaker."— Andrew Barnes, Kent State University
Douglas W. Blum is a professor of political science at Providence College and an adjunct professor of international studies at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University. He has published and spoken on a number of related themes, including the politics of identity formation, Russian and American foreign policy, and energy security in the Caspian basin. His most recent work is National Identity and Globalization: Youth, State and Society in Post-Soviet Eurasia (Cambridge University Press, 2007).
Russia and Globalization is distributed by the Johns Hopkins University Press, www.press.jhu.edu or telephone 1-800-537-5487. The price is $60.00 for hardcover.
