Leveraging the natural experiment caused by the dissolution of the USSR and its uniform approach to higher education, this book focuses on university governance across the former Soviet countries, making it essential reading for researchers, students and policy makers. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.

"Leveraging the natural experiment caused by the dissolution of the USSR and its uniform approach to higher education, this book focuses on university governance across the former Soviet countries, making it essential reading for researchers, students and policy makers. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core"--

Frustrated Democracy in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan follows a newly independent oil-rich former Soviet republic as it adopts a Western model of democratic government and then turns toward corrupt authoritarianism. Audrey L. Altstadt begins with the Nagorno-Karabagh War (1988–1994) which triggered Azerbaijani nationalism and set the stage for the development of a democratic movement. Initially successful, this government soon succumbed to a coup. Western oil companies arrived and money flowed in—a quantity Altstadt calls "almost unimaginable"—causing the regime to resort to repression to maintain its power. Despite Azerbaijan's long tradition of secularism, political Islam emerged as an attractive alternative for those frustrated with the stifled democratic opposition and the lack of critique of the West's continued political interference. Altstadt's work draws on instances of censorship in the Azerbaijani press, research by embedded experts and nongovernmental and international organizations, and interviews with diplomats and businesspeople. The book is an essential companion to her earlier works, The Azerbaijani Turks: Power and Identity Under Russian Rule and The Politics of Culture in Soviet Azerbaijan, 1920–1940.

A comprehensive, up-to-date look at modern Russian higher education. By the mid-eighteenth century, when the first university appeared in Russia, many European nations could boast of long and glorious university traditions. But Russia, with its poorly developed system of elementary and secondary education, lagged behind other European countries and seemed destined for a long spell of second-tier performance. Yet by the mid-twentieth century, the fully reformed system of Soviet higher education was perceived as an unexpected success, one that transformed the country into a major scientific power throughout the Cold War. Today, the international community is keeping close tabs on the fast development of world-class higher education in Russia, specifically its large-scale changes and reforms. Higher Education in Russia is the first comprehensive, up-to-date overview and analysis of modern Russian higher education. Aimed at a large international audience, it describes the current realities of higher education in Russia, as well as the main principles, logic, and relevant historical and cultural factors. Outlining the evolution of the higher education system in tsarist Russia throughout the nineteenth century, Yaroslav Kuzminov and Maria Yudkevich describe the development of its mass-scale higher education system from the end of the Second World War to the collapse of the Soviet Union and beyond. They also discuss the principal elements of today's Russian higher education system while exploring the system's governance model and the logic of its resource allocation. They touch on university selection, the structure of the country's academic profession, the organization of research, and the major excellence programs of leading universities. Illustrating the idea that the development of the higher education system is very much linked with the European experience, the authors argue that Russian higher education was often the domain of successful (and not so successful) education experiments and innovations. Higher Education in Russia is a must-read for scholars of higher education and Russian history alike.

This volume presents the major outcomes of the third edition of the Future of Higher Education – Bologna Process Researchers Conference (FOHE-BPRC 3) which was held on 27-29 November 2017. It acknowledges the importance of a continued dialogue between researchers and decision-makers and benefits from the experience already acquired, this way enabling the higher education community to bring its input into the 2018-2020 European Higher Education Area (EHEA) priorities. The Future of Higher Education – Bologna Process Researchers Conference (FOHE-BPRC) has already established itself as a landmark in the European higher education environment. The two previous editions (17-19 October 2011, 24-26 November 2014), with approximately 200 European and international participants each, covering more than 50 countries each, were organized prior to the Ministerial Conferences, thus encouraging a consistent dialogue between researchers and policy makers. The main conclusions of the FOHE Conferences were presented at the EHEA Ministerial Conferences (2012 and 2015), in order to make the voice of researchers better heard by European policy and decision makers. This volume is dedicated to continuing the collection of evidence and research-based policymaking and further narrowing the gap between policy and research within the EHEA and broader global contexts. It aims to identify the research areas that require more attention prior to the anniversary 2020 EHEA Ministerial Conference, with an emphasis on the new issues on rise in the academic and educational community. This book gives a platform for discussion on key issues between researchers, various direct higher education actors, decision-makers, and the wider public. This book is published under an open access CC BY license.

A collection of essays which examine the reform of the educational system in post Soviet Russia in historical and comparative perspective.

Although it has been more than 20 years since Communism crumbled in Central and Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, many scholars and politicians still wonder what the lifting of the Iron Curtain has really meant for these former Communist countries. And, because these countries were largely closed off to the world for so long, there has yet to be an all-inclusive study on their administrative systems—until now. In Public Administration in Post-Communist Countries: Former Soviet Union, Central and Eastern Europe, and Mongolia, expert contributors supply a comprehensive overview and analysis of public administration in their respective post-Communist countries. They illustrate each country’s transformation from an authoritarian system of governance into a modern, market-based, and in some cases, democratic government. The book covers the countries that were officially part of the Soviet Union (Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Estonia, Lithuania, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan); those that were theoretically independent but were subject to Soviet-dominated Communist rule (Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Poland); as well as a satellite republic that was under significant Soviet influence (Mongolia). Each chapter includes a brief introduction to the specific country, an overview of politics and administration, and discussions on key aspects of public management and administration—including human resource management, public budgeting, financial management, corruption, accountability, political and economic reform, civil society, and prospects for future development in the region. The book concludes by identifying common themes and trends and pinpointing similarities and differences to supply you with a broad comparative perspective.