1 / 13

Elections Do Matter in Russia...

The Show Must Go On: Elections, United Russia and the Putin Regime Dr Sarah Whitmore, Oxford Brookes University, UK . Elections Do Matter in Russia. As an indicator of incumbent strength and the integrity of the elite coalition To confer democratic legitimacy.

lilah
Download Presentation

Elections Do Matter in Russia...

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Show Must Go On: Elections, United Russia and the Putin RegimeDr Sarah Whitmore, Oxford Brookes University, UK

  2. Elections Do Matter in Russia... • As an indicator of incumbent strength and the integrity of the elite coalition • To confer democratic legitimacy

  3. United Russia’s Role in Putin’s Regime • Russia’s most successful ‘party of power’ • Since 2003, the party was consolidated to perform important functions in Russia’s personalist authoritarian regime: • Managing elites via the party’s domination of legislatures • Managing the masses by promoting a discourse around the ‘national leader’ (2007-11) and by assisting in the managing of elections • BUT remained a personalised, ‘virtual’ party

  4. Duma Elections December 4th 2011 • *in the party list portion of the vote • Duma elections as a ‘presidential primary’ in Russia

  5. Pillars of United Russia’s Electoral Success: 1. The Popularity & Personal Power of Vladimir Putin • Putin as ‘locomotive’ in 2007 • Putin’s falling ratings 2011 (e.g. *approval ratings, Levada Centre) • Active distancing • All-Russian Popular Front (ONF) as rebranding and revitalising • Medvedev ‘poor fit’ • Campaign disarray after September 23rd

  6. Pillars of United Russia’s Electoral Success: 2. Governor-locomotives • 2003 – 28 ‘governors-locomotives’ • 2007 – 65 ‘governor-locomotives’ • But 2004 – end of governors’ direct election & 2009-11 widespread replacement • 2011 – national level figures in ‘difficult’ regions (e.g. Deputy PM Sechin in Stavropol’, kosmonautValentina Tereshkova in Yaroslavl’)

  7. Pillars of United Russia’s Electoral Success: 3. Administrative Resources • Party as beneficiary of connections and resources of state officials who were party members or needed to demonstrate loyalty to the Kremlin to ensure budget receipts • National level electoral populism • Regional electoral clientelism • Ethnic republics • 2011 – more difficult in Russian regions and esp. urban areas

  8. United Russia lost control over the narrative • Stability = stagnation • ‘The Party of Swindlers and Thieves’ reached 46% voters (Levada Centre) • Navalny’s ‘vote for any party except United Russia’ campaign

  9. 2011 Elections Results by Region http://en.rian.ru/infographics/20111208/169491066.html

  10. 2011 Elections Results by Region

  11. Significance of 2011 Elections?

  12. Conclusions • Elections do matter • United Russia – a personalised party • United Russia’s electoral success founded on its connection with personalised leaders at national and regional level, both of which were weakened in 2011 • Poorly managed, reactive campaign • Hegemonic only in provincial and non-Russian regions • Regime lost its ‘aura of invincibility’

  13. Thanks for listening!

More Related