Attempting to satisfy their political masters in a target-driven culture, Soviet managers had to optimize on many margins simultaneously. One of these was the margin of truthfulness. False accounting for the value of production appears to have been widespread in some branches of the economy and...

The paper examines the control system that Stalin established, as the Soviet dictator, to enforce his orders. Historical records demonstrate that Stalin designed the system’s scope, organisation, and credentials to maximise its cost-effectiveness. On several occasions Stalin deliberately...

Realism has traditionally not devoted considerable attention to the role of ideas and institutions. Neoclassical realism can respond to this deficit by exploring their impact on the decision-makers as an intervening variable between the international distribution of power and foreign policy....