Democratization, Regionalization and Europeanization in Russia

Anastassia has produced research that makes a significant and original contribution to our knowledge about the generic relation between democratization and federalization and about their specific relation in the context of regime change and the role of regions in Russia. Anastassia has proven to be an industrious and accomplished researcher with a willingness to tackle 'big' issues and to confront prevailing orthodoxy within the discipline.Philippe C. Schmitter This is an analysis of the causes and affects of asymmetrical federalization in Russia. This is a complex work but clearly laid out. It is well written and blends quantitative analysis with a good understanding of the historical and political context, which not all such studies do.Michael Keating This research addresses the resultant limitations in the academic study of the recent relations of the EU with its ’new’ neighbours via a focus on the regional dimension of this problem. This is an innovative study that makes a convincing argument about important and under-explored issues. This analysis might be very helpful for further theoretical and empirical studies of the EU-RF politics. Arthur Demchuk