Russia's Soft Power Ambitions
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Policy Department External Policies CITIZENS in DANGER HUMAN
BRIEFING PAPER Policy Department External Policies CITIZENS IN DANGER HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOM IN PUTIN’S RUSSIA HUMAN RIGHTS February 2008 JANUARY 2004 EN This briefing paper was requested by the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights. This study is published in the following languages: EN, FR (OR), RU Author: Marie Mendras, researcher Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris Administrator: Andrea Subhan Directorate-General for External Policies Policy Department BD4 06 M 071 rue Wiertz, 60 B-1047 Brussels Manuscript completed in February 2008. This study is available on the Internet at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/activities/committees/studies.do?language=FR Brussels: European Parliament, 2008. The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. ©European Communities, 2008 Marie Mendras is a researcher at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and Russia expert at the Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches Internationales (CERI). She teaches at Sciences Po University in Paris. She runs the Observatoire de la Russie at CERI and in particular has published Comment fonctionne la Russie ? Le politique, le bureaucrate et l’oligarque, Autrement, 2003, and La Russie de Poutine, Pouvoirs, Le Seuil, 2005. Her publications in English include: Russia and Europe. The Challenge of Proximity, Europa Institut Zürich, Schulthess, 2004, ‘Back to the Besieged Fortress?’ in Putin’s Empire, Stefan Batory Foundation, Warsaw, 2007, ‘Authority and Identity in Russia’ in Katlijn Malfliet, ed., Elusive Russia, Leuven, 2007. Marie Mendras studied at Essex University, Sciences Po Paris, Institut des Langues et Civilisations Orientales, Johns Hopkins University Bologna Center, and Harvard University. -
Religion, State and 'Sovereign Democracy' in Putin's Russia
Religion, state and ‘sovereign democracy’ in Putin’s Russia John Anderson School of International Relations University of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland KY16 8EB (01334 462931; [email protected]) John Anderson is Professor of International Relations at the University of St Andrews. He has published widely on religion and politics in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet states, on religion and democratisation, on Christianity and politics in Russia, Europe and the USA, and on the politics of Central Asia. His most recent book is Conservative Christian Politics in Russia and the United States (Manchester University Press, 2015). 1 Abstract This article explores the role of the dominant Russian Orthodox Church in the evolution of the post-communist Russian Federation. This is not a classic case where religion may have contributed to the democratisation of society because this has not been a primary goal of political elites, and the regime that has emerged might best be described as ‘hybrid’ with growing authoritarian tendencies. Having played little role in the ending of communism, having little historical experience of working within a democracy, suspicious of liberal- individualist visions of public life and committed to a vision of its role as the hegemonic religious institution, the promotion of democratic governance has not been a priority of church leaders. At the same time the political structures created by the Kremlin encourage a degree of conformity and support for the regime by key social actors, and in the wake of the political crisis of 2011-12 there have been further incentives for church and state to work more closely together. -
The Political Clubs of United Russia: Incubators of Ideology Or Internal Dissent?
The Political Clubs of United Russia: Incubators of Ideology or Internal Dissent? Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Eileen Marie Kunkler, B.A. Graduate Program in Slavic and East European Studies The Ohio State University 2010 Thesis Committee: Goldie Shabad, Adviser Trevor Brown Copyright by Eileen Marie Kunkler 2010 Abstract In 2008, three political clubs were officially formed within the United Russia party structure: the Social-Conservative Club, the Liberal-Conservative Club, and the State-Patriotic Club. Membership of these clubs includes many powerful Duma representatives. Officially, their function is to help develop strategies for implementing the government‟s Strategy 2020. However, a closer examination of these clubs suggests that they also may function as an ideology incubator for the larger party and as a safety valve for internal party dissent. To answer the question of what the true function of these clubs is an attempt will be made to give: a brief overview of Unity‟s and Fatherland-All Russia‟s formation; a description of how United Russia formed; a summary of the ideological currents within United Russia from 2001-2009; a discussion of the three clubs; and a comparative analysis of these clubs to the Christian Democratic party of Italy and the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan. Based on this evidence, it will be argued that primary purpose of these clubs is to contain intra-party conflict. ii Dedication Dedicated to my family and friends iii Acknowledgements I wish to thank my adviser, Goldie Shabad, for all of her help, advice, and patience in working on this project with me. -
An Essay in Universal History
AN ESSAY IN UNIVERSAL HISTORY From an Orthodox Christian Point of View PART 6: THE AGE OF MAMMON (1945-2001) Volume 3: From 1992 to 2001 Vladimir Moss © Copyright Vladimir Moss, 2017: All Rights Reserved 1 The communists have been hurled at the Church like a crazy dog. Their Soviet emblem - the hammer and sickle - corresponds to their mission. With the hammer they beat people over the head, and with the sickle they mow down the churches. But then the Masons will remove the communists and take control of Russia… St. Theodore (Rafanovsky) of Belorussia (+1975). In order to have a democracy in society there must be a dictatorship in power. Anatoly Chubais. We are on the verge of a global transformation. All we need is the right major crisis... and the nations will accept the New World Order. David Rockefeller. Globalization is all about wealth. It knows the price of everything and value of nothing. Without borders the world will become – is becoming – a howling desert of traffic fumes, concrete and plastic, where nowhere is home and the only language is money. Peter Hitchens. The best way to shake people out of their inertia is to put them in debt. Then you give them the power to realize their dreams overnight, while ensuring that they’ll spend years paying for their dreams. This is the principle upon which the stability of the Western world rests. A Serb. Israel is where Jews are. It is not a line on a map. Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. The death of God does not mean that man will believe in nothing, but that he will believe in anything. -
Briefing European Parliamentary Research Service
Briefing June 2016 Russia's 2016 elections More of the same? SUMMARY On 18 September, 2016 Russians will elect representatives at federal, regional and municipal level, including most importantly to the State Duma (lower house of parliament). President Vladimir Putin remains popular, with over 80% of Russians approving of his presidency. However, the country is undergoing a prolonged economic recession and a growing number of Russians feel it is going in the wrong direction. Support for Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and ruling party United Russia has declined in recent months. Nevertheless, United Russia is likely to hold onto, and even increase its parliamentary majority, given the lack of credible alternatives. Of the tame opposition parties currently represented in the State Duma, polls suggest the far-right Liberal Democrats will do well, overtaking the Communists to become the largest opposition party. Outside the State Duma, opposition to Putin's regime is led by liberal opposition parties Yabloko and PARNAS. Deeply unpopular and disunited, these parties have little chance of breaking through the 5% electoral threshold. To avoid a repeat of the 2011–2012 post-election protests, authorities may try to prevent the blatant vote-rigging which triggered them. Nevertheless, favourable media coverage, United Russia's deep pockets and changes to electoral legislation (for example, the re-introduction of single-member districts) will give the ruling party a strong head-start. In this briefing: What elections will be held in Russia? Which parties will take part? Will elections be transparent and credible? The State Duma – the lower house of Russia's parliament. -
Russia and Arms Control: Are There Opportunities for the Obama Administration?
RUSSIA AND ARMS CONTROL: ARE THERE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION? Stephen J. Blank March 2009 Visit our website for other free publication downloads http://www.StrategicStudiesInstitute.army.mil/ To rate this publication click here. The views expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. Authors of Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) publication enjoy full academic freedom, provided they do not disclose classified information, jeopardize operations security, or misrepresent official U.S. policy. Such academic freedom empowers them to offer new and sometimes controversial perspectives in the interest of furthering debate on key issues. This report is cleared for public release; distribution is unlimited. ***** This publication is subject to Title 17, United States Code, Sections 101 and 105. It is in the public domain and may not be copyrighted. ***** Comments pertaining to this report are invited and should be forwarded to: Director, Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, 122 Forbes Ave, Carlisle, PA 17013-5244. ***** All Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) publications are available on the SSI homepage for electronic dissemination. Hard copies of this report also may be ordered from our homepage. SSI’s homepage address is: www.StrategicStudiesInstitute.army.mil. ***** The Strategic Studies Institute publishes a monthly e-mail newsletter to update the national security community on the research of our analysts, recent and forthcoming publications, and upcoming conferences sponsored by the Institute. Each newsletter also provides a strategic commentary by one of our research analysts. -
Russia Selective Capitalism and Kleptocracy
21st Century Authoritarians Freedom House Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Radio Free Asia JUNE 2009 FFH_UD7.inddH_UD7.indd iiiiii 55/22/09/22/09 111:221:22 AAMM RUSSIA SELECTIVE CAPITALISM AND KLEPTOCRACY Daniel Kimmage The Kremlin deploys the conceptual vocabulary of the new Russia—national renewal, anti-Western xenophobia, sovereign democracy—through a sophis- ticated domestic communications strategy that marshals both the traditional state resources and much-expanded control over virtually all mainstream mass media. This one-two punch, coming amid a period of rising prosperity, has had a signifi cant impact on popular opinion, and the Kremlin’s message has resonated with its intended recipients. introduction When Russian tanks halted their advance a few kilometers from Tbilisi in August 2008, with the Georgian army in full fl ight and Georgia’s allies in Europe and the United States reduced to fulmination, the global consensus on the meaning of the invasion was swift and bracing: Russia was back, a force to be reckoned with, and intent on reclaiming its lost share of import and infl uence among nations. This consensus is as wrongheaded and simplistic as the previous incarnations of con- ventional wisdom it has replaced: fi rst, that Russia was engaged in a rollicking, rollercoaster transition from communist torpor to liberal democracy and a free-market economy, and then, when that fi ne vision foundered in fi nancial crisis and sundry misadventures toward the end of the 1990s, that Russia had become mired in some intermediary phase of its supposed transition and might soon slink off history’s grand stage altogether. -
“Sovereign Democracy” and Civil Society in Putin's Russia
CEERS Working Papers 1/2021 https://doi.org/10.47669/CEERS-1-2021 Managing Society: “Sovereign democracy” and Civil Society in Putin’s Russia Aram TERZYAN* This paper explores the interplay between “sovereign democracy” and civil society in Putin’s Russia, with a focus on the challenges of a vibrant civil society emergence. While a vibrant civil society is largely viewed as a key component of a democratic society and a crucial instrument for political change, the Russian civil society organizations have been characterized by organizational weakness, and marginality in terms of their social base, financial assets and influence over policy making (Evans, 2011, p. 46). Evans (2011) notes that this picture has much to do with the cultural legacy of the Soviet system with pervasive distrust of social organizations and even of the whole public sphere (p. 46). Indeed, it has not been uncommon for post-Soviet societies to perceive civic associations as threat to the power and stability of the state together with the conviction that the state bears the responsibility for the wellbeing of the Society. Meanwhile, the Putin regime has further reinforced such perceptions to thwart civic activism and prevent it from evolving into an issue-specific, value- driven and a robust civil society. * Aram Terzyan, PhD is research director of Los Angeles-based Center for East European and Russian Studies of Eurasia Institutes. Email: [email protected] . 1 CEERS Working Papers | 2021 – number 1 | eurasiainstitutes.org | DOI: 10.47669/CEERS-1-2021 In Russia, mistrust in NGOs is widespread. Only one third of the population trusts at least one sort of NGO, while only 8.9% trust civil society as a whole (Stewart and Dollbaum, 2017). -
Putin's Youth
Putin’s Youth: Nashi and the Pro-Regime Youth Movement in Russia, 2000-2012 Angela Lee Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Prerequisite for Honors in History May 2013 © 2013 Angela Lee Table of Contents page I. Acknowledgments……………………………………………………………………………iii II. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………1 III. Background: The Komsomol, 1918-1991 ……………………….………………...…………4 IV. Chapter 1: Idushchie Vmeste, 2000-2005……………………………………...……………17 V. Chapter 2: Nashi Emerges, 2005-2008………………………………….…………………..31 VI. Chapter 3: Nashi Recedes, 2008-2012…………………………….………………………...55 VII. Conclusion.…………………………………………………………………………………..66 VIII. Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………69 ii Acknowledgments I would like to thank my advisor, Professor Nina Tumarkin for her patience, sound guidance, and endlessly good humor. I would also like to thank all my History professors at Wellesley for their dedication to teaching and their passion for the subject, and also to the Russian Language Department for making the process of learning Russian a joy during this past year. I am grateful to those who were part of the History Honors Thesis Seminar for the rich discussions and thought-provoking questions. I am thankful to Professors Mark Kramer, Ivan Kurilla, Valerie Sperling, and Elizabeth Wood for their willingness to direct me to the right sources for my research. And finally, I am indebted to the love and support of my parents and siblings for all these years. iii Introduction “The question for Russia now is what to do next. How can we make the new, market -
THE DOUBLE-HEADED EAGLE SEMI-PRESIDENTIALISM and DEMOCRACY in FRANCE and RUSSIA by Cole Joseph Harvey Submitted to the Dean of T
THE DOUBLE-HEADED EAGLE SEMI-PRESIDENTIALISM AND DEMOCRACY IN FRANCE AND RUSSIA By Cole Joseph Harvey Submitted to the Dean of the University Honors College In partial fulfillment Of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh i 2008 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH UNIVERSITY HONORS COLLEGE This thesis was presented by Cole J. Harvey It was defended on July 14, 2008 and approved by Dr. Ronald Linden, PhD., Department of Political Science Dr. Alberta Sbragia, PhD., Department of Political Science Dr. Thomas Remington, PhD., Department of Political Science, Emory University Thesis Advisor: Dr. Jonathan Harris, PhD., Department of Political Science ii Copyright © by Cole J. Harvey 2008 iii The Double-Headed Eagle: Semi-Presidentialism and Democracy in France and Russia Cole J. Harvey University of Pittsburgh, 2008 It has become a commonplace observation in recent years that Russian democracy is in remission. Indeed there is a significant difference between the struggling democratic performance of Russia and that of a consolidated democracy such as France. The modern French and Russian states are both semi-presidential states, meaning that in each country executive power is shared between an elected president and an appointed prime minister who can (at least in theory) be voted out of office by the legislature. Despite this broad similarity, semi- presidential institutions are organized in significantly different ways in each country. This paper examines those differences in order to understand how they can help account for poor democratic performance in Russia and strong democratic performance in France. Four political institutions will be examined in each country: presidents, prime ministers, parliaments, and political parties. -
Analytic Framework for Emulating Russian Decision-Making Dmitry Gorenburg, Michael Kofman, Paul Schwartz, and Samuel Bendett with Contributions by Danielle Johnson
Analytic Framework for Emulating Russian Decision-Making Dmitry Gorenburg, Michael Kofman, Paul Schwartz, and Samuel Bendett with contributions by Danielle Johnson June 2017 DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for Public Release; Distribution unlimited. This document contains the best opinion of CNA at the time of issue. It does not necessarily represent the opinion of the sponsor. Distribution DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for Public Release; Distribution unlimited.. SPECIFIC AUTHORITY: N00014-16-D-5003 6/29/2017 Distribution may be authorized to other entities at the discretion of the Russia Strategy Group, U.S. European Command. Request additional copies of this document through [email protected]. Photography Credit: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu. kremlin.ru Approved by: June 2017 Ken E. Gause, Director International Affairs Group Center for Strategic Studies Copyright © 2017 CNA Abstract The purpose of this report is to propose an analytical framework for emulating Russian decision-making in the national security realm. The framework is paired with a methodology that allows the user to systematically examine what Russian decision- making would look like in response to a foreign policy crisis. The framework is presented in the first section and then applied to three potential crisis scenarios in Eastern Europe. The analytical structure presented is meant to be used as a guideline. It offers potential answers, tools, and a systematic method for emulation that allows users to formulate decision-trees for Russian actions on the basis of reasonable assumptions about how Russia might act in various situations. The final product can be further developed and refined on the basis of observation of Russian actions in future interactions with its adversaries and behavior in crisis situations. -
Historiska Institutionen
Historiska institutionen Uppsala Universitet Russia’s ‘Sovereign Democracy’: A Case Study of the Public Protests in Connection with Parliamentary and Presidential Elections 2011-2012 Master thesis, Autumn 2014 Program: MA Roads to Democracy(ies) Student: Nina Dyachenko Supervisor: Kristian Gerner Session chair: Benjamin Martin Defence: 25 September 2014 Abstract This thesis examines Russia as a case study and focuses on the particular political process of Russia’s modern history, namely the public protests that emerged in connection with allegedly unfair elections to the State Duma in December 2011 and presidential elections in March 2012. Drawing the parallels between the Russian government’s new policy labeled by the Kremlin’s political technologists as a “sovereign democracy” and the new Russian protest movement, this thesis seeks to determine the influence this set of practices had on the emergence and on the decline of the protest movement. This question is answered with the help of the political opportunity theory and the relevant empirical data in the form of legislative documents, transcripts of meetings as well as newspaper articles. This study suggests that Russia’s transition to full-fledged democracy is hampered by the scrupulously elaborated authoritarian system masked as a democracy of a special kind and states that the legal rights of Russian citizens are severely violated as the protest movement 2011-2012 proves. In particular, this thesis provides explanation of why the success of the Orange Revolution was not possible in Russia and argues that the set of practices elaborated by the government and called ‘sovereign democracy’ poses difficulties for development of democracy in Russia and, in a way, drags the country back to the Soviet past when the communist ideology turned the country into a totalitarian regime.