Consolidation of Democracy in Post-Soviet Russia :: Communism Soviet Union Russian History Essays

Consolidation of Democracy in Post-Soviet Russia The fall of the Communist regime in the Soviet Union was more than a political event. The powerful interaction and fusion between politics and economics that characterized the state socialist system created a situation that was unique for the successor states of the Soviet Union. The penetration of the Communist regime into every facet of life left the Russian people with little democratic traditions. Russia faces the seemingly impracticable task of economic liberalization and democratization. This is combined with a necessity to answer nationalist and ethnic questions that have plagued Russia for centuries. This paper addresses the problems of creating a stable democracy in Russia. The prospects for a stable democracy in Russia are limited at best. I will outline some of the concerns that academics have in the consolidation of Russian democracy. What is paramount to note is that a stable democracy must adequately address what Ken Jowitt calls the â€Å"developmental trinity†: nation-building; capitalism and democracy. The dilemma that is especially relevant to Russia it that these conditions are often contradictory. The often messy business of politically reconstructing a nation defies traditional democratic ideals. The establishment of democratic institutions can hinder the development of a market economy and, conversely, programs that are designed to enhance capitalist expansion often are antagonistic towards democratic goals (Jowitt 7). These seemingly endless Catch-22’s are at the heart of difficulties facing Russia in its attempt to create a stable democracy. The Process of Creating A Nation-State The question of who is the playing the game and what makes the playing field is an important one for the Russian Federation. Ethnic and nationalist questions plagued the Soviet Union and continue to stress the Russia Federation during its nascent period. The dynamics of center-periphery relations provides Moscow with some of the greatest challenges in establishing a stable democracy. Phillipe Smitter writes, â€Å"There is no simply democratic way of deciding what a nation and its corresponding political unit should be† (Smitter 66). Later in his article, he writes â€Å"those that have not yet resolved the dilemma of defining their national and territorial boundaries are unlikely to make much more progress in other domains† (Smitter 73). The dilemma facing the Russian Federation is that it finds itself with a charge of establishing and following democratic institutions, while at the same time facing secessionary pressures that seem to require extra-democratic means to preserve the integrity of the nation.

Causes of Reality TV Popularity

There are several reasons that reality television has become popular today. The three that I will focus on are the concepts of money, instant fame, and the guilty pleasure phenomenon. The first catalyst for reality television being popular today is money. Today’s shows offer huge sums of money to people who do not necessarily possess the career skills that would make them a productive enough member of society to amass such wealth through honest work. Simplified, dumb people get lots of cash. Now, some shows do in fact have, at least at first, a pseudo-intellectual premise. Who Wants to Be A Millionaire, for example, offered up to a million dollars to people answering a set of questions. The questions, however, differed from related shows in that they were usually trivia oriented. Also, the audience was involved, as well as calling a friend and so on, which added to the drama aspect. The lighting, music, and editing all were contrived to produce the maximum possible suspense surrounding rather innocuous pop culture subjects one might find in any game of Trivial Pursuit for Children. The promise of money and the vicarious joy at someone winning lots of money, or more commonly spectacularly losing said money, is what draws millions of viewers. The second reason I believe reality television has become popular today is that of instant fame. Reality television takes ordinary people, sets them up in extraordinary situations on a world stage with other similarly commonplace individuals, and makes them the focus of a nation’s attention on, for example, an hour every Tuesday. Obviously the majority of the population has no chance of ever being picked as a participant for the show itself, but again the concept of vicarious living kicks in and the audience is hooked. The members of the show are satisfactorily every-day individuals for fans to willfully suspend their disbelief. That’s what keeps 35,000 twenty year olds auditioning every year for a chance to participate in MTV’s The Real World, which offers no monetary reward save the endorsements from being an instant celebrity. The third reason that reality television is popular today is what I like to call guilty pleasure syndrome. Sociology professor Mark Fishman of Brooklyn College, The City University of New York, has made a study of reality TV. â€Å"The Germans have a word for it, the appeal of some of these shows,† he says. â€Å"It's called ‘schadenfreude. ‘ It means taking delight in the misfortunes of others. It's a guilty pleasure. You feel you shouldn't be watching. It's always been in good taste not to look at these things†¦. It's a moral envelope that's being pushed†¦. We seem to be in a new age of making public what [we used to think] shouldn't be seen. † In today’s society, with the massive technological revolution of home computing and the internet, and with the renewed interest in free speech and the protection of the arts, more and more people are finding premises entertaining that 30 years ago would have been considered obscene.

Juvenile Injustice The Effectiveness Of The Juvenile...

Juvenile Injustice: The Effectiveness of the Juvenile Justice System Within America T’nea Boyd John Jay College of Criminal Justice Abstract This paper examines the effectiveness of the American justice system surrounding juvenile offenders not yet responsible for their punishable acts. Although the purpose of the juvenile justice system is the rehabilitate and deter juvenile offenders from breaking laws, evidence suggests the justice system is ineffective and unjust. The sentencing of juveniles is unjust and ineffective because juveniles are not mentally developed enough to make rational decisions, incarcerating juveniles is costly, and youth incarceration does not discourage youth from committing more crimes, and the incarceration of juveniles often results in mental and physical abuse of the youth. Coming out of the waning crack cocaine epidemic of the late 1980s and early 1990s, 200,000 juveniles have been facing adult punishment at as young as thirteen. These teens face tougher judges and harsher punishment including sentencing to adult prisons instead of juvenile facilities. Although studies show that that brain has weak impulses in individuals under the age of eighteen and youth criminals who serve adult punishments are more dangerous after they are released, critics argue that these youth still know right from wrong, and therefore should be prosecuted as adults. Juvenile Justice is the â€Å"area of criminal law applicable to persons not old enough to be heldShow MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Incarceration On The Social Of African American Juveniles1487 Words   |  6 PagesDisciplinary changes applied to the juvenile justice system in addition to negative impressions of juvenile males have caused juvenile male incarceration rates to surge. African American male juveniles encounter racial differences in society everyday due to view that media portrays them to be. 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