Russian Studies, Political Science, and the Philosophy of Technology

This volume presents state-of-the-art creative scholarship in political science and area studies with an emphasis on Russia. The contributors, all well-known in their specialties, share the conviction that advancement in the social sciences can only be achieved through plural methodological approaches and interaction with various disciplines. Their work in this collection provides critical analyses of key issues in Russian and post-Soviet studies. It explores the most fruitful ways of studying Russia with particular emphasis on the federal system, politics in the era of Putin, challenges of Russian foreign policy, and Russian attitudes toward democracy. The vagaries of democracy are also explored in articles on Georgia and Turkey. Additionally, this book examines the philosophy of technology with an emphasis on critical theory, eco-domination, and engineering ethics.

Timothy K. Blauvelt is Professor of Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies at Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia and also Regional Director for the South Caucasus for American Councils for International Education.

DAVID FOLEY’s plays include Nance O’Neil, Paradise, Sad Hotel, Cressida Among the Greeks, Suffering the Witch, The Last Days of Madalyn Murray O’Hair in Exile, and many others, including the Edgar-nominated thriller Deadly Murder. Three of his plays were produced at New York’s Ohio Theater and several more at the Access Theater with Blue Coyote Theater Group. Among his other productions, Cressida and A Hole in the Fence appeared at the White Bear Theatre in London, and Suffering the Witch at Théâtre de Poche in Brussels under the title American Witch. He has an MFA in Fiction Writing from New York University, where he now teaches.

Lisa K. Parshall, Daemen University, USA