Presidential Authoritarianism in the United States and Russia During the Metamodern Era
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Nova Southeastern University NSUWorks Department of Conflict Resolution Studies CAHSS Theses, Dissertations, and Applied Theses and Dissertations Clinical Projects 2020 Presidential Authoritarianism in the United States and Russia During the Metamodern Era Christopher Davis Follow this and additional works at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/shss_dcar_etd Part of the Peace and Conflict Studies Commons Share Feedback About This Item This Dissertation is brought to you by the CAHSS Theses, Dissertations, and Applied Clinical Projects at NSUWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of NSUWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Presidential Authoritarianism in the United States and Russia During the Metamodern Era by Christopher M. Davis A Dissertation Presented to the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences of Nova Southeastern University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Nova Southeastern University 2020 Nova Southeastern University College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences This dissertation was submitted by Christopher M. Davis under the direction of the chair of the dissertation committee listed below. It was submitted to the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences and approved in partial fulfillment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Conflict Analysis and Resolution at Nova Southeastern University. Approved: Dedication This is dedicated to the men and women who prefer danger over disgrace. Acknowledgments I wish to express my appreciation my committee chair, Dr Ismael Muvingi, for his support and friendship. I would also like to acknowledge the encouragement and love of my family and friends, including my wife, Tina. Table of Contents List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. iii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................................1 The Emergence of the Metamodern Moment .............................................................................1 Research Question .................................................................................................................5 Chapter Conclusion ................................................................................................................5 Chapter 2: Literature Review ...........................................................................................................6 Towards a Metamodern World ...................................................................................................6 Signals of the Metamodern Era..............................................................................................6 The Origins of Metamodernism .............................................................................................8 Russia: Simulations of State and Identity ............................................................................14 United in Delusion: State, Nation, and Nationalism ............................................................16 The Foundations of the State ...............................................................................................16 The Mask of the Nation .......................................................................................................21 The Elites of the Metamodern World ..................................................................................22 Reaching the Culminating Point of Conflict ........................................................................30 Chapter 3: Research Method ..........................................................................................................34 Statement of Purpose ...........................................................................................................34 Research Objectives .............................................................................................................34 Research Method .................................................................................................................34 Data Collection ....................................................................................................................38 Analytical Procedure: the Emergence of a Coding Framework ..........................................39 i Methodological Summary ....................................................................................................45 Chapter 4: Results ..........................................................................................................................46 Crisis as Pretext....................................................................................................................46 The Past as Utopia ...............................................................................................................70 Appeal to Tribal Identity ......................................................................................................72 Response: the Call for Authoritarianism..............................................................................77 Chapter 5: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations ........................................................80 The Types of Metamodern Presidents?................................................................................83 Significance of Research ......................................................................................................90 Charting the Way Forward: Lessons and Recommendations ..............................................97 References ....................................................................................................................................100 ii List of Tables Table 1. Metamodernism as represented by terms .........................................................................40 Table 2. Identified codes fit into the larger framework .................................................................43 iii Abstract This dissertation examined the public language of U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to assess how they frame modern crises. Both the United States and Russia have experienced internal turmoil, social discord, political and economic instability, and international conflict since the termination of their hostilities three decades ago. Helming the presidential offices of these great powers, self-described strongmen Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin nostalgically promise to restore the lost glories of their respective countries while making mawkish appeals to tribal identities to build popular support for authoritarian tendencies and practices; preying on popular yearning for stability in a time of uncertainty. This oscillation between the past and future, occupying an uncomfortable and uncertain position, described as Metamodernism, has emerged as a response to the crises of the 21st century, magnified by the hyper-connection and subjectivities created by modern telecommunications technology. Using documentary content analysis of the public speeches and statements of Trump and Putin, this dissertation examined how the two leaders, proxies for the elites of their respective countries, framed the challenges of the Metamodern Era to advance their authoritarian political agendas. The study found that Trump represented deconstructive Metamodernism and Putin signified constructive Metamodernism; both processes to emplace an authoritarian state in either a democratic state or a fragile state. The findings in this research have implications for international relations theory, democracy research, and conflict resolution studies. iv 1 Chapter 1: Introduction The Emergence of the Metamodern Moment For the United States, the 20th Century opened with a devastating and shocking terrorist attack by Al Qaeda in New York City and Washington D.C. that killed approximately 3,000 people, leaving both a physical scar at the scenes of the horror and a disfiguring psychological wound on the national spirit. The American government retaliated first with the invasion of Afghanistan to uproot the safe haven of Al Qaeda and then followed with the subjugation of Iraq, resulting in the destruction of Saddam Hussein’s government and the obliteration of that country’s internal peace and stability1. By the end of the first decade of the century, over one million people died during the War on Terrorism2, the Great Recession threatened global economic stability, and tremendous social change in the United States, marked by the election of the country’s first black president, intensified internal political conflict. Simultaneously, Russia emerged from the chaos of the 1990s, impoverished and depleted by the collapse of the Soviet Union, as a more confident state power with international ambitions to restore its role as a leading global contender. Its president, a former secret police officer, Vladimir Putin, promised to strengthen the country by imposing internal order and confronting external enemies (Myers, 2016). Like the United States, Russia’s start of the 20th Century also included war: an assault on the de facto independent Chechen Republic, a mountainous redoubt