A Viable Russian IFederalism

In thinking about democratization we should avoid a one-dimensional set of categories. Western observers sometimes picture events in the post-Soviet world as a clear-cut battle between the forces of democratic reform on the one side and those of nationalist extremism on the other. While this scenario captures much of the situation, it does not exhaust the field of political possibilities. Several students of Russian politics have recently argued for a more nuanced view, while warning against linking American policy to a set vision of future developments in Russia.' Among other things, we need to focus on federalism as a coherent political theory and practice offering useful directions for the resolution and containment of political tensions. The theory of federalism may also shed light on the difficulties posed by conflicts over separatisrn and ethnic self-determination. The future of Russian politics hinges in large part on efforts to reconcile the interests of the central government with those of the regions and republics.z The American example may be helpful here by suggesting an outline of federal politics that highlights possibilities for escaping a vicious cycle of reform and reaction. Political analysis too often blurs the distinction between patriotism and nationalism, as if any attempt to articulate the former necessarily means recourse to bigotry and militarism. Recent efforts by Russians such as Vladimir Lukin, Sergei Stankevich, and Valery Zorkin to evoke a responsible patriotism underscore the need for more complex categories.3 Consider also the argumenta of Alexander Solzhenitsyn on the subject of Russian patriotism.4 The dubious results of the reform program launched in January 1992, admitted by Yegor Gaidar himself to have made for an "exhausted society" beset with a "parasiticbourgeoisie," have highlighted the usefulness of political perspectives besides capitalism and nationalism.5 Federalism may promote a civic patriotism that can weather challenges without succumbing to the excesses of ethnically based or imperialist nationalism. The American example comprises more than democratic national institutions and a market-oriented economic system. In particular, the American political tradition, going back to the framing of the Constitution and earlier, incorporates a strong attachment to local and regional integrity. The institutions and customs inspired by that attachment have served to check the dangers inherent in both liberalism and nationalism. On the one