To analyze the reign of Vladimir Putin as President and Prime-Minister as a distinct historico-political phenomenon and to trace its assent to hegemony in Russian politics from the late 1990s onwards.
Contents
The course focuses on Putinism as a distinct phenomenon of political ideology and practice. We shall reconstitute the basic features of Putinism as an ideological discourse and a governmental rationality, tracing its genesis in the socioeconomic reforms of the 1990s, its assent to the hegemonic status in Russian politics during the current decade and its perpetuation in the aftermath of Putin’s two presidential terms. We shall particularly focus on the relation between the principles of bureaucracy, oligarchy and democracy at different stages of Putin’s rule, probing the possibilities of the development of Putinism as a paradigm of rule in either the more authoritarian or liberal-democratic direction.
Teaching language
English
Modes of study
Lectures, lecture exam and literature exam
Evaluation
Numeric 1-5.
Recommended year of study
1. year autumn
Autumn 2009
Study materials
- Sakwa, Richard (2008). Russian Politics and Society. London: Routledge (4th edition)