Preventing Nuclear Meltdown: Managing Decentralization of Russia's Nuclear Complex by J. C. Moltz V. A. Orlov A. N. Stulberg (review)

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REVIEWS i8i Highlighting the authors who indirectlyengage the old/new debate is the editor, DavidJ. Smith, and Martyn Housden, both of whom show the influence of the Baltic States in constructingthe 'European'identity. They outline how the minority policies of Estonia and Latvia during the interwar period have done a greatdeal to establishthe currentminoritypolicies of some of the states within the wider European context and could be a guiding light for how the EU wants to develop: from an EU of states to an EU of legally independent groups. Leonidas Donskis shows, by looking at Rolandas Paskas's rise and fall from power within Lithuania, that a state's concept of its identity can be a self-fulfillingprophecy. Viatcheslav Morozov and SergeiJakobson-Obolenski both highlight effectively that the identities of the Baltic States and, in the case ofJakobson-Obolenski, Europe have been created in part by identifying characteristics of other regions or states (Russia and, more specifically, Kaliningrad) that do not fit them. Morozov further argues that only by recognizing the similar history will true identity be constructed between Russia, the Baltic States and Europe. Dirk Crols, despite his title, focuses on the argument(sharedwithJakobson-Obolenski)that the EU encouragesstates to develop into single, stable nation-states,which inherently encourages the 'othering', a concept in direct contrast to the inclusion and integration they profess. Paul Holtom, Charles Woolfson and Eero Mikenberg, in contrast, argue that the EU has effectively integrated the Baltic States, but that this integration has brought with it dilemmas such as illegal trade through the Baltic ports, the lack of labour rightsin Lithuania,and the problems of crossborder cooperation between border regions in the Baltic States (now the EU border)and the Russian Federation.These issuesnow become EU (not solely Baltic State) issues and only by addressingthese issues can the EU hope to change them: a change which will, additionally,influence the identitiesof the Baltic States. The authors adequatelyfulfilthe criteria,each addressinga specific aspect of 'European-ness'and a variety of ways in which the identities of the Baltic States have been, and continue to be constructed as 'European'. In that regard,however, the title is misleadingas only a portion of the chaptersfound herein deal directly and in depth with the old/new debate (a point Smith makes in the introduction).Question of title appropriatenessaside, the book is well written and providesvery usefulinsightinto the question and construction of the identity of the Baltic Sea States, particularlythe Baltic States, but Finland and Russia as well. Department ofPoliticsandInternational Relations JEREMY W. LAMOREAUX University ofAberdeen Moltz,J. C., Orlov, V. A. and Stulberg,A. N. (eds).Preventing Nuclear Meltdown: Managing Decentralization ofRussia's Nuclear Complex. Ashgate, Aldershotand Burlington,VT, 2004. xii + 258 pp. Tables. Map. Notes. Index. ?49 95 THIs book is the resultof a collaborativestudythat began in 2000 between the Monterey Instituteof InternationalStudies and the Center for Policy Studies I82 SEER, 85, I, 2007 (PIR)based in Moscow. As a result the book produces an excellent in-depth analysisof Russia'snuclear complex based upon a wide range of information sources.The focus of the book is the relationshipbetween Russia'sregionsand the central ministries tasked with controlling the country's various nuclear facilitiesboth in the militaryand civilianspheres.Althoughlapsesin the monitoring and control of these facilities combined with the continual attempts of criminal organizations to obtain materials from them at times makes for harrowingreading, the book treads a carefulpath warning us of the dangers and the steps that need to be taken without being overly alarmist. The book is divided into three main sections and an introduction, with the latter not only providing an overview of the book but also a very useful summary of research previously conducted on the subject. The first section concerns itself with Russia's federal nuclear agencies, their relationshipwith the regions and the decision making processes involved in such a structure. Chapter two, which is the firstchapter of this section, thereforemaps out the 'concentric circles of authority among federal, regional, and local offices'. It thus providesthe administrativeand legal settingwithin which centre-regional relations operate. In addition, it provides the reader with a good historical overview of the many changes introduced since the dissolution of the Soviet...