Why am I passionate about this?

I am researching how elites and societies in Russia and East Central Europe have adapted to the social, political, and economic transformation processes following the end of Communism. What fascinates me about this topic is understanding why many of these countries continued to fall back to the same patterns of re-autocratization as they did during the Communist times. My answer is that it is because many institutions and elites in these regions have continued certain policies and behaviors from Communist times, which are still affecting their politics and economics. I also examine the impact of the transformational shock on Russia's international revisionism and democratic backsliding across the region. 


I wrote

When Left Moves Right: The Decline of the Left and the Rise of the Populist Right in Postcommunist Europe

By Maria Snegovaya,

Book cover of When Left Moves Right: The Decline of the Left and the Rise of the Populist Right in Postcommunist Europe

What is my book about?

Over the past two decades, in both Western and Eastern Europe, previously successful center-left parties suffered dramatic electoral defeats while…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Populism: A Very Short Introduction

Maria Snegovaya Why did I love this book?

For anyone interested in populism, this book is a must. It is one of the classic books for understanding the nature of populism, its causes, its worldwide dynamic, and its effects on politics in various contexts.

One of the most cited books on the topic, it also introduces the classic definition of populism as an ideology grounded in a Manichean worldview that divides society into two antagonistic camps: the "pure people" and the "corrupt elites."

By Cas Mudde, Cristobal Rovira Kaltwasser,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Populism as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Populism is a central concept in the current media debates about politics and elections. However, like most political buzzwords, the term often floats from one meaning to another, and both social scientists and journalists use it to denote diverse phenomena. What is populism really? Who are the populist leaders? And what is the relationship between populism and democracy? This book answers these questions in a simple and persuasive way, offering a swift guide to populism in theory and practice.

Cas Mudde and Cristobal Rovera Kaltwasser present populism as an ideology that divides society into two antagonistic camps, the "pure people"…


Book cover of Leftism Reinvented: Western Parties from Socialism to Neoliberalism

Maria Snegovaya Why did I love this book?

Another influential book explains why left parties decided to rebrand and adopt seemingly suicidal economic policies. Mudge traces the evolution of left parties' economic policies and the adoption of neoliberal policies as a function of their adaptation to waning voter loyalties.

This book explains the motivation behind the Third Way rebranding that many such parties underwent. 

By Stephanie L. Mudge,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Leftism Reinvented as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Left-leaning political parties play an important role as representatives of the poor and disempowered. They once did so by promising protections from the forces of capital and the market's tendencies to produce inequality. But in the 1990s they gave up on protection, asking voters to adapt to a market-driven world. Meanwhile, new, extreme parties began to promise economic protections of their own-albeit in an angry, anti-immigrant tone.

To better understand today's strange new political world, Stephanie L. Mudge's Leftism Reinvented analyzes the history of the Swedish and German Social Democrats, the British Labour Party, and the American Democratic Party. Breaking…


Book cover of How Russia Really Works: The Informal Practices That Shaped Post-Soviet Politics and Business

Maria Snegovaya Why did I love this book?

This book is fascinating because it shows how underlying informal political structures remained the same even after empires and political regimes collapsed.

Ledeneva explores the nature of the informal patronal networks connecting Russian elites and how that explains the persistent non-democratic dynamic over time and under various contexts. This book sheds light on the informal nature of Russian politics.

By Alena V. Ledeneva,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How Russia Really Works as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

During the Soviet era, blat-the use of personal networks for obtaining goods and services in short supply and for circumventing formal procedures-was necessary to compensate for the inefficiencies of socialism. The collapse of the Soviet Union produced a new generation of informal practices. In How Russia Really Works, Alena V. Ledeneva explores practices in politics, business, media, and the legal sphere in Russia in the 1990s-from the hiring of firms to create negative publicity about one's competitors, to inventing novel schemes of tax evasion and engaging in "alternative" techniques of contract and law enforcement. She discovers ingenuity, wit, and vigor…


Book cover of The Light That Failed: Why the West Is Losing the Fight for Democracy

Maria Snegovaya Why did I love this book?

This is one of my favorite books on the topic: it explains how and why electorates in postcommunist Europe became disillusioned with the promises of modernization and liberalization following the collapse of the Communist system. It shows how naïve and cheerful they were at first and how skeptical and disillusioned they’ve subsequently become.

The reforms were painful, and the results of those reforms were not always as expected. This disillusionment led to the rise of populism across the region. The authors also trace similar dynamics in Russia and the United States, which led to the rise of Putin and Trump, respectively.

By Stephen Holmes, Ivan Krastev,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Light That Failed as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Why did the West, after winning the Cold War, lose its political balance?

In the early 1990s, hopes for the eastward spread of liberal democracy were high. And yet the transformation of Eastern European countries gave rise to a bitter repudiation of liberalism itself, not only there but also back in the heartland of the West.

In this brilliant work of political history, Ivan Krastev and Stephen Holmes argue that the supposed end of Communism turned out to be only the beginning of the age of the autocrat. Reckoning with the history of the last thirty years, they show that…


Book cover of Taking Stock of Shock: Social Consequences of the 1989 Revolutions

Maria Snegovaya Why did I love this book?

Like the above, the book analyses the social consequences of the transition across the post-communist region. It tracks how painful and shocking some of its aspects were to the corresponding countries. It helps us understand why the reform overachievers, the countries that did best in reforming their economies (like Hungary and Poland), subsequently suffered some of the most pronounced political backlashes against these reforms.

The book is well-written and fun to read despite the serious topic.

By Kristen Ghodsee, Mitchell Orenstein,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Taking Stock of Shock as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Kristen Ghodsee and Mitchell A. Orenstein blend empirical data with lived experiences to produce a robust picture of who won and who lost in post-communist transition, contextualizing the rise of populism in Eastern Europe.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, more than 400 million people suddenly found themselves in a new reality, a dramatic transition from state socialist and centrally planned workers' states to liberal democracy (in most cases) and free markets. Thirty years later, postsocialist citizens remain sharply divided on the legacies of transition. Was it a success that produced great progress after a short recession,…


Explore my book 😀

When Left Moves Right: The Decline of the Left and the Rise of the Populist Right in Postcommunist Europe

By Maria Snegovaya,

Book cover of When Left Moves Right: The Decline of the Left and the Rise of the Populist Right in Postcommunist Europe

What is my book about?

Over the past two decades, in both Western and Eastern Europe, previously successful center-left parties suffered dramatic electoral defeats while populist right parties soared in popularity and came to power. Were these dynamics in any way connected? This book argues that they were and that the root of the connection between them lies in the pro-market rebranding of the ex-Communist left. 

I argue that, though the left’s pro-market shift initially led to electoral rewards, it alienated traditional left supporters (working-class and economically vulnerable groups) in the long run. As a result, reformist left parties suffered dramatic electoral defeats. In response, right-wing parties in their respective countries adopted more redistributive economic platforms consistent with the preferences of former left supporters and incorporated sizeable shares of these electorates. 

Book cover of Populism: A Very Short Introduction
Book cover of Leftism Reinvented: Western Parties from Socialism to Neoliberalism
Book cover of How Russia Really Works: The Informal Practices That Shaped Post-Soviet Politics and Business

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No Average Day: The 24 Hours of October 24, 1944

By Rona Simmons,

Book cover of No Average Day: The 24 Hours of October 24, 1944

Rona Simmons Author Of No Average Day: The 24 Hours of October 24, 1944

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I come by my interest in history and the years before, during, and after the Second World War honestly. For one thing, both my father and my father-in-law served as pilots in the war, my father a P-38 pilot in North Africa and my father-in-law a B-17 bomber pilot in England. Their histories connect me with a period I think we can still almost reach with our fingertips and one that has had a momentous impact on our lives today. I have taken that interest and passion to discover and write true life stories of the war—focusing on the untold and unheard stories often of the “Average Joe.”

Rona's book list on World War II featuring the average Joe

What is my book about?

October 24, 1944, is not a day of national remembrance. Yet, more Americans serving in World War II perished on that day than on any other single day of the war.

The narrative of No Average Day proceeds hour by hour and incident by incident while focusing its attention on ordinary individuals—clerks, radio operators, cooks, sailors, machinist mates, riflemen, and pilots and their air crews. All were men who chose to serve their country and soon found themselves in a terrifying and otherworldly place.

No Average Day reveals the vastness of the war as it reaches past the beaches in…

No Average Day: The 24 Hours of October 24, 1944

By Rona Simmons,

What is this book about?

October 24, 1944, is not a day of national remembrance. Yet, more Americans serving in World War II perished on that day than on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, or on June 6, 1944, when the Allies stormed the beaches of Normandy, or on any other single day of the war. In its telling of the events of October 24, No Average Day proceeds hour by hour and incident by incident. The book begins with Army Private First-Class Paul Miller's pre-dawn demise in the Sendai #6B Japanese prisoner of war camp. It concludes with the death…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in populism, Central Asia, and democracy?

Populism 27 books
Central Asia 31 books
Democracy 120 books