This pathbreaking study provides the first comprehensive comparative analysis of states and markets in Japan and Russia/USSR. Utilizing a strong theoretical foundation, Guoli Liu examines the interaction of the state and market in general and the transition from one type of state-market relationship to another.

In an ambitious attempt to discover macro trends and changing patterns of state-market relations, the author compares six leading cases in Japanese and Russian/Soviet history from the 1860s to the early 1990s, with an emphasis on post-World War II development.

By bridging the gap between political and economic analysis and by integrating two significant but isolated bodies of area studies literature on Japan and Russia, this book will advance understanding of democratization and marketization in societies with markedly different political and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Moving smoothly from the theoretical to the pragmatic, the author also draws on the Japanese experience to suggest policy options for Russia as the country moves simultaneously from a totalitarian/authoritarian to a democratic state and from a planned to a market-oriented economy.