Includes bibliographical references (pages 230-273) and index

"The Soviet system has undergone a dramatic transformation: from communist monopoly to multiparty politics, from Marxism to competing values, from centralisation to fragmentation, and from state ownership to a mixed economy. This book, by three of the West's leading scholars of Soviet and post-Soviet affairs, traces the politics of transition in the late 1980s and early 1990s from its origins to its uncertain post-communist future. The authors analyse the full impact of transition on official and popular values, central and local political institutions, post-Soviet republics, the CPSU and the parties which replaced it, and political participation. A final chapter considers the problematic nature of this form of 'democracy from above'. Detailed but clearly and accessibly written, The politics of transition provides an ideal guide to the changes that have been taking place in the politics of the newly independent nations that together constitute a sixth of the world's land surface."--Page 4 of cover

Beyond Marxism -- Reforming the electoral system -- Structures of government -- The Presidency and central government -- From union to independence -- Patterns of republic and local politics -- The withering away of the party -- The emergence of competitive politics -- The politics of economic interests -- Public opinion and the political process -- Letters and political communication -- The Soviet transition and "democracy from above."