This outstanding book deals with the Soviet model as a distinctive pattern of modernity. Its historical background and its institutional structure are thoroughly examined as are its implications for understanding Modernity. The book challenges many of the simple assumptions and judgements made about the Soviet road. It is essential reading for students of Political Science, Sociology and Soviet History

I Introduction: Theoretical Perspectives II Sources And Components 1. State formation and state tradition 2. Revolutionary imagination and revolutionary strategy 3. Social revolution and imperial modernization III The Model And Its Variants 1. The totalitarian project 2. Expansion, reproduction and reform 3. The Western Periphery 4. The Eastern Arena IV Crisis and Collapse 1. Visions of breakdown 2. From expansion to extinction