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Papers by keith darden

Has the development of post-Soviet Russia in an international system dominated by a democracy-pro... more Has the development of post-Soviet Russia in an international system dominated by a democracy-promoting United States bred an authoritarian reaction in Russia as a response to perceived threats from the West? Beginning with the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, Russian elites have increasingly seen the United States as a distinctively threatening power, one with a strategy to exploit civic organizations, ethnic groups, and other forms of domestic pluralism as "fifth columns" in an effort to overthrow unfriendly regimes. The result is that the United States' muscular promotion of democracy abroad has produced the opposite of its intended effect on Russia, leading successive Russian governments to balance the perceived threat from the United States by pursuing greater military and intelligence capacity to intervene abroad, and by tightening internal authoritarian controls at home to prevent foreign exploitation of the nascent internal pluralism that emerged in the wake of Communism

Foreign Affairs, Apr 2014

Politics and Society, Mar 2008

This article argues that corrupt practices such as bribery and embezzlement, which scholars have ... more This article argues that corrupt practices such as bribery and embezzlement, which scholars have previously assumed to be evidence of the breakdown of the state, may reinforce the state’s administrative hierarchies under certain conditions. Drawing on a cross-national analysis of 132 countries and a detailed examination of the informal institutions of official graft in Ukraine, the article finds that where graft is systematically tracked, monitored, and granted by state leaders as an informal payment in exchange for compliance, it provides both an added incentive to obey leaders’ directives and the potent sanction of criminal prosecution in the event of disobedience. Where graft is informally institutionalized in this way, it provides the basis for state organizations that are effective at collecting taxes, maintaining public order, and repressing political opposition, but which may undermine the development of liberal politics.

Foreign Affairs, Mar 3, 2014

Abstract will be provided by author.

Ethnopolitics, 2012

The responses to our article highlight key elements of the Promethean Dilemma and are generous co... more The responses to our article highlight key elements of the Promethean Dilemma and are generous contributions in their own right. As we see it, the authors all recognize the essential dilemma presented by efforts to transfer coercive capacity to an occupied population. All recognize that the loyalty of recruited military and police is a central problem that needs to be addressed. Their primary concern is with our proposed course of action regarding how to address this dilemma.

Abstract will be provided by author.

Articles by keith darden

Has the development of post-Soviet Russia in an international system dominated by a democracy pro... more Has the development of post-Soviet Russia in an international system dominated by a democracy promoting United States bred an authoritarian reaction in Russia as a response to perceived threats from the West? Beginning with the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, Russian elites have increasingly seen the United States as a distinctively threatening power, one with a strategy to exploit civic organizations , ethnic groups, and other forms of domestic pluralism as " fifth columns " in an effort to overthrow unfriendly regimes. With each new crisis in U.S.-Russian relations–Ukraine 2004, Georgia 2008, Ukraine 2014–the Russian leadership has tightened controls over society, the press, and the state. The result is that the United States' muscular promotion of democracy abroad has produced the opposite of its intended effect on Russia, leading successive Russian governments to balance the perceived threat from the United States by pursuing greater military and intelligence capacity to intervene abroad, and by tightening internal authoritarian controls at home to prevent foreign exploitation of the nascent internal pluralism that emerged in the wake of Communism.

Has the development of post-Soviet Russia in an international system dominated by a democracy-pro... more Has the development of post-Soviet Russia in an international system dominated by a democracy-promoting United States bred an authoritarian reaction in Russia as a response to perceived threats from the West? Beginning with the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, Russian elites have increasingly seen the United States as a distinctively threatening power, one with a strategy to exploit civic organizations, ethnic groups, and other forms of domestic pluralism as "fifth columns" in an effort to overthrow unfriendly regimes. The result is that the United States' muscular promotion of democracy abroad has produced the opposite of its intended effect on Russia, leading successive Russian governments to balance the perceived threat from the United States by pursuing greater military and intelligence capacity to intervene abroad, and by tightening internal authoritarian controls at home to prevent foreign exploitation of the nascent internal pluralism that emerged in the wake of Communism

Foreign Affairs, Apr 2014

Politics and Society, Mar 2008

This article argues that corrupt practices such as bribery and embezzlement, which scholars have ... more This article argues that corrupt practices such as bribery and embezzlement, which scholars have previously assumed to be evidence of the breakdown of the state, may reinforce the state’s administrative hierarchies under certain conditions. Drawing on a cross-national analysis of 132 countries and a detailed examination of the informal institutions of official graft in Ukraine, the article finds that where graft is systematically tracked, monitored, and granted by state leaders as an informal payment in exchange for compliance, it provides both an added incentive to obey leaders’ directives and the potent sanction of criminal prosecution in the event of disobedience. Where graft is informally institutionalized in this way, it provides the basis for state organizations that are effective at collecting taxes, maintaining public order, and repressing political opposition, but which may undermine the development of liberal politics.

Foreign Affairs, Mar 3, 2014

Abstract will be provided by author.

Ethnopolitics, 2012

The responses to our article highlight key elements of the Promethean Dilemma and are generous co... more The responses to our article highlight key elements of the Promethean Dilemma and are generous contributions in their own right. As we see it, the authors all recognize the essential dilemma presented by efforts to transfer coercive capacity to an occupied population. All recognize that the loyalty of recruited military and police is a central problem that needs to be addressed. Their primary concern is with our proposed course of action regarding how to address this dilemma.

Abstract will be provided by author.

Has the development of post-Soviet Russia in an international system dominated by a democracy pro... more Has the development of post-Soviet Russia in an international system dominated by a democracy promoting United States bred an authoritarian reaction in Russia as a response to perceived threats from the West? Beginning with the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, Russian elites have increasingly seen the United States as a distinctively threatening power, one with a strategy to exploit civic organizations , ethnic groups, and other forms of domestic pluralism as " fifth columns " in an effort to overthrow unfriendly regimes. With each new crisis in U.S.-Russian relations–Ukraine 2004, Georgia 2008, Ukraine 2014–the Russian leadership has tightened controls over society, the press, and the state. The result is that the United States' muscular promotion of democracy abroad has produced the opposite of its intended effect on Russia, leading successive Russian governments to balance the perceived threat from the United States by pursuing greater military and intelligence capacity to intervene abroad, and by tightening internal authoritarian controls at home to prevent foreign exploitation of the nascent internal pluralism that emerged in the wake of Communism.