Satellites and Commissars: Strategy and Conflict in the Politics of Soviet-Bloc Trade

Author:   Randall W. Stone
Publisher:   Princeton University Press
Edition:   New edition
Volume:   95
ISBN:  

9780691095981


Pages:   304
Publication Date:   21 April 2002
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   Manufactured on demand   Availability explained
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Satellites and Commissars: Strategy and Conflict in the Politics of Soviet-Bloc Trade


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Overview

Why did the Soviet Union squander the political leverage afforded by its trade subsidy to Eastern Europe? Why did Soviet officials fail to bargain with resolve, to link subsidies to salient political issues, to make credible commitments and to monitor the satellites' policies? Using formerly secret documents housed in archives in Moscow, Warsaw and Prague, as well as interviews with former Communist officials across Eastern Europe, this book attempts to answer these and other questions. The book argues that trade politics revolved around the incentives created by distorted prices on the Western market and those in the Soviet bloc. The Soviet Union made numerous attempts to reduce its implicit trade subsidy and increase the efficiency of the bloc, but the satellites managed consistently to outmanoeuvre Soviet negotiators. Drawing upon recent developments in bargaining and principal-agent theory, the book argues that the incentives created by domestic institutions weakened Soviet bargaining strategies. In effect, it suggests, perverse incentive structures in the Soviet economy were exported into Soviet foreign policy.Futhermore, the book argues, incentives to smother information were so deeply entrenched that they frustrated numerous attempts to reform Soviet institutions.

Full Product Details

Author:   Randall W. Stone
Publisher:   Princeton University Press
Imprint:   Princeton University Press
Edition:   New edition
Volume:   95
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.454kg
ISBN:  

9780691095981


ISBN 10:   0691095981
Pages:   304
Publication Date:   21 April 2002
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  College/higher education ,  Professional & Vocational ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand   Availability explained
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Language:   English

Table of Contents

List of TablesPrefaceList of AbbreviationsCh. 1A Principal-Agent Theory of Soviet Bargaining Failure3Ch. 2The History of Subsidized Trade27Ch. 3The Politics of Bilateral Trade Negotiations49Ch. 4The Costs of Empire?72Ch. 5Three Case Studies of Politics and Trade89Ch. 6The Comprehensive Program115Ch. 7The Long-Term Target Programs148Ch. 8The Comprehensive Program for Scientific and Technical Progress171Ch. 9Perestroika and the Unified Socialist Market204Ch. 10Conclusions and Reflections238Appendix: List of Interviews251Selected Bibliography261Index277

Reviews

Randall Stone provides a theoretically sophisticated and empirically rich study... Masterfully linking theory and case study, Stone provides a provocative analysis that challenges a number of prevailing views... Skeptics may dispute Stone's conclusions but are less likely to question the quality of his analysis and research. Indeed, his careful study has set the terms for debate and an agenda for further research. -- Philip Roeder American Political Science Review A major achievement in the field of Soviet studies. It is an original, carefully documented, and theoretically valuable contribution to the field. Moreover, this book effectively crosses disciplines of comparative political economy and international relations, making it essential reading both for theorists concerned with the process of integration and for students of Soviet-East European relations. -- Alan Rousso Political Science Quarterly One of the best-researched analyses of trade between members of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance... This is a book well worth reading. -- Dale R. Herspring Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science


Randall Stone provides a theoretically sophisticated and empirically rich study... Masterfully linking theory and case study, Stone provides a provocative analysis that challenges a number of prevailing views... Skeptics may dispute Stone's conclusions but are less likely to question the quality of his analysis and research. Indeed, his careful study has set the terms for debate and an agenda for further research. -- Philip Roeder, American Political Science Review A major achievement in the field of Soviet studies. It is an original, carefully documented, and theoretically valuable contribution to the field. Moreover, this book effectively crosses disciplines of comparative political economy and international relations, making it essential reading both for theorists concerned with the process of integration and for students of Soviet-East European relations. -- Alan Rousso, Political Science Quarterly One of the best-researched analyses of trade between members of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance... This is a book well worth reading. -- Dale R. Herspring, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science


Author Information

Randall W. Stone is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Rochester. The dissertation on which this book is based won the Charles Sumner Prize from Harvard University and the 1994 Helen Dwight Reid Award from the American Political Science Association. He is also the author of Lending Credibility (Princeton).

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