"Michael McFaul and Kathryn Stoner-Weiss have edited a stimulating volume in which leading political scientists working on the former Soviet Union demonstrate the utilit of a sophisticated combination of post-Communist area expertise and comparative social science methods. Although the editors describe the book as a 'sampler' of cutting-edge work by top researchers, the volume in fact coheres very nicely around two central themes: state building and regime transition." Political Science Quarterly, Henry E. Hale, George Washington University