When Majorities Fail: The Russian Parliament, 1990-1993

When Majorities Fail is a study of institutional failure in Russia's first democratic legislature. Inadequate rules and a chaotic party system combined to make it nearly impossible for the legislature to pass a coherent legislative program, including a new constitution. This is the first book-length study of a peculiar form of chaos (cycling) that can exist in majority rule institutions when institutional rules are weak. Not only does this study identify cycling in an important institutional setting--the Russian national legislature--it shows that poor institutional design has important consequences for the consolidation of democracy in transitional countries.