Federalism in Authoritarian Regimes: The Case of Russia

Abstract

Over the first 20 years after the demise of Communism, Russia has transformed from a limited democracy to a consolidated authoritarian regime. The panel deals with the interdependence of transformation and federalism in Russia as well as with its functioning under the conditions of “new” authoritarianism. This topic is highly relevant considering that the Russian Federation is, by its constitutional structure, one of the largest multi-ethnic federations in the world. The Russian regions differ substantially with regard to their legal status, socio-economic performance, and ethnic composition. Since 2000, the Russian federalism significantly changed its nature, transforming from a “spontaneously decentralised” to an increasingly recentralised federal state. The powers of the regions and their governors were dramatically weakened. At the same time, informal institutions and networks sustainably forming federal relations gained strength. Any hopes that Medvedev, as the President of Russia, would reverse Putin’s “vertical of power” were shattered. With respect to recent reforms, it is debatable whether they point to a careful liberalisation or not. The panel addresses the development of federalism in an authoritarian regime, using Russia as an example. It invites papers with a focus on the following topics: 1) Theoretical analysis: Does the Russian experience fit with existing assumptions about the relationship between democracy, authoritarianism, and federalism? Does it require new or more specific theoretical approaches? 2) Governance: Are federal autocracies developing unique mechanisms of governance? How does the party system frame federal relations? 3) Networks: How are networks shaping centre-regional relationships? What is the role of elite networks? Do powerful networks weaken federalism or do they offer access for the regions to regain power? 4) Policies: What kind of policy-related variations can be observed in central-regional relations? Papers with a strong empirical basis are particularly welcome.

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