Comp Gov Midyear Study Guide

easy 100 we got this 🤞

Methods of Comparative Analysis

• Causation v. Correlation

  • Causation: measuring the effect of one variable on another

  • Correlation: measuring two variables that both tend to change together

    • not enough information to discover is one affects the other or if it’s a confounding variable

    • positive correlation: both increase/decrease together

    • negative correlation: one increases as the other decreases

• Empirical statements v. Normative statements

  • Empirical statements: factual claims based on evidence—no bias

  • Normative statements: claims with judgement/bias in addition to factual evidence

State

• Definition

  • Sovereign political organizations that can exercise control over a permanent population with international recognition

    • Sovereignty

      • Ability to exercise control in a defined area

      • legal authority, legislative authority, protect from external threat

  • Get political power through legitimacy from citizens of the state

  • Have institutions

• Strong v. Weak States

  • Strong States

    • state has the ability to enact a policy and see through its execution and enforcement

      • the capacity of the state

    • ex: UK

  • Weak state

    • does not have the capacity to carry something out

    • ex: Nigeria

  • Failed states

    • cannot provide basic law and order to their people

    • criminals not afraid of repercussions by the state

    • ex: Haiti

• Autonomy

  • ability to enact and carry out policy without the support of the public

  • high autonomy- state can doesn’t need the people’s support

    • ex: China

  • low autonomy- state needs the people’s support

    • ex:UK

• Legitimacy

  • the people accept the right of the state to rule over them

  • Traditional Legitimacy

    • acquired because of old traditions

    • maintained largely due to consistency and predictability

    • history and religion based

    • families often came into power because they’d been chosen by God

    • ex: Tsarist Russia and Dynastic China

  • Charismatic Legitimacy

    • cults of personality

    • single individual captures loyalty and attention of the people

    • individual leader is now the basis of the legitimacy of the state

    • often forms after a revolution → someone becomes the hero of the people → gains power

    • ex: Stalin, Mao

  • Rational-Legal Legitimacy

    • leaders exercise power under the terms of political rules (usually a Constitution)

    • disliked leaders will still have power as long as they are serving a term

    • ex: UK, US

• Institutions

  • Formal

    • based on official rules that are relatively clear

    • ex: Army, US House of Representatives, Courts, IRS

  • Informal

    • have unwritten and unofficial rules

    • bring people together

    • not automatically less powerful

    • ex: MLB, NFL

  • Linkage

    • connect people to policy making

    • ex: civil society groups, political parties, interest groups, the media

• Nation

  • people with a commonality such as race, language, religion

  • desire self-government (or want to maintain it)

  • Nation-State

    • states sometimes have a strong sense of national identity created through shared language, culture, ethnicity, etc

      • ex: China (Han Chinese)

      • national disunity does not equal instability

        • ex: UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland)

  • Multinational States

    • states made of multiple nations

    • ex: Nigeria

  • Nationalism

    • pride in one’s people and belief they can achieve their political destiny

  • Stateless Nations

    • nations poorly integrated into political system of state they are in

    • desire to separate and form their own nation-state is not yet realized

    • ex: Uighurs in China, Chechen people in caucasus region in Russia

• Regime

  • Rules and systems under which the political process takes place

  • Determine how individuals and groups acquire and exercise political power

  • Some have written law— Constitution

  • Regime changes can happen through:

    • Reform

      • gradual changes to the political rules that do not fundamentally alter political system

    • Revolution

      • sudden and radical change in the structures and systems → completely transforms political regime

    • Coup D’États

      • military of the state acts internally

      • displaces whoever is currently in power and seizes it for itself

• Government

  • the individuals currently exercising political power from official positions of authority

  • new president coming into power → change in government

• Unitary States

  • concentrate basically all power at the central/national level

  • regional governments may have some power, but like not really

  • ex: China, Iran, UK

  • Devolution

    • central government willingly cedes certain key powers to lower governments

    • not built into constitution, could theoretically be taken back

    • ex: UK

• Federal State

  • Constitution divides powers amongst federal and regional governments

    • clarifies what powers apply to what levels

  • regional governments permanently established → cannot be taken away easily

  • ex: Mexico, Nigeria, US

• Supranational Organizations

  • governing bodies that allow many sovereign states to send representatives to make collective decision for the group

  • ex: EU, NATO, UN, WTO

  • limits sovereignty of member states

Society

• Ethnicity

  • attributes identified by a group of people that make them distinct

  • can include cultural heritage, ancestry, history, language, homeland, religion, ideology, etc

• Citizenship

  • formal relationship between state and individual

  • comes with specific rights/privileges granted by the state

  • similar to nationality and ethnicity but different since citizenship is purely political

  • basis of patriotism— which is pride in the state

• Cleavages

  • basis for political conflict

  • divide groups in society against one another because of conflicting political goals

  • Exs: owner v. worker, church v. state, urban v. rural, land v. industry

  • Cross-Cutting Cleavages

    • two cleavages do not align with each other in a way that reinforces the divide between the two sides

    • people are part of multiple cleavages → promotes stability because people are in too small of sections to make change → politics still function civilly

    • ex: workers being from urban and rural environments

  • Coinciding Cleavages

    • deeply divide a society to the point where it can no longer remain stable and unified

    • whichever side holds the majority shapes policy agenda → other side consistently losing → threatens idea of revolution

    • Ex: all the workers being in urban environments while all the owners live in rural areas

• Centrifugal Forces

  • forces that divide and polarize people in a state

  • Ex: religion, ethnicity, language

• Centripetal Forces

  • brings people of a state together

  • increases legitimacy and stability

  • Ex: religion, ethnicity, language

• Political Ideology

  • person’s preference for the goals of politics

  • Liberalism

    • economic and personal freedom & central goals of a political system

    • want freedom to pursue own (economic) interests

    • individuals should have basic rights and a relative equality of opportunity, but not economic equality

  • Communism

    • true freedom comes in the form of economic equality

    • want to abolish social and economic inequality through strict state control of all economic activity (or no state at all)

    • total equality by sharing everything

  • Fascism

    • Reject all notions of equality and freedom

    • Unwavering loyalty to the state → empowering it means reaching full strength and potential

  • Individualism

    • values individual rights and liberties over government restrictions

      • limited government

      • means to protect individual rights

    • emphasis on initiative and responsibility

  • Populism

    • supports interests of the common people over the elites

    • often decreases political stability while increasing tensions

• Political Culture

  • basic norms for political activity in a country

  • each country has it’s own political culture

• Political Efficacy

  • belief that one’s actions can influence political processes

• Political Socialization

  • the process by which people acquire political beliefs and values

  • Ex: family, media

• Coup D’États v. Revolutions

  • Coups: small group of organized people (usually military)

  • Revolutions: large group of largely uncoordinated people (the masses)

Elections

• Plurality v. Majority

  • Plurality

    • the candidate has more votes than the other(s)

  • Majority

    • the candidate has over half of the votes

• Referendum

  • general vote by the general public on a topic

  • direct decision

• Single Member District

  • aka first-past-the-post

  • give seats only to the candidate with the most votes

  • vote for the individual not the party

  • always results in a 2 party system

    • smaller parties gain nothing

  • gerrymandering is a huge issue

  • doesn’t represent people well

    • if the votes are split amongst many candidates, a leader with only 20% (for ex.) of the total votes can win (only 1/5 actually wanted him)

• Proportional Representation

  • percentage of votes → amount of seats

  • vote for the party not the individual

    • open: people pick

    • closed: party picks

  • multi-party system

  • more diversity

    • people actually vote for who they want because it still matters

  • coalitions tend to form

    • alliances

    • smaller parties align → have more power than party with most seats

• Mixed System

  • mix of both

Democratic Regimes

• power is in the people!

• Presidential System

  • voters cast direct vote for candidate to serve as president

    • not done through legislative

  • separation of powers— executive separate from legislative

  • divided government

    • not uncommon for legislative branch to be majority a different party than the executive branch

    • much harder for things to pass and change to be created

  • leaves at end of term limit(s), or impeached

• Parliamentary System

  • leader is chosen form majority party

    • party chosen through election

  • often titled prime minister

  • do not have separation of powers, extremely intertwined

  • removed through a vote of no confidence

    • majority vote in parliament is to gain a new PM

  • no term limit, but vote of confidence should be called after an extended period of time

• Semi-Presidential System

  • combines elements of parliamentary system and presidential system

  • elected president as head of state and prime minister responsible for day-to-day

• Head of State

  • Figure head for the country

  • Ex: Welcoming important foreign people

  • can be the same person as head of government

  • Ex: Royal Family in England

• Head of Government

  • responsible for day-to-day administration of the policies of the state

  • presidential systems more likely to unite these roles, parliamentary systems more likely not to

• Civil Society

  • non-governmental organizations and institutions that manifest the will of the people

  • people join organizations to give their input and express interests

• Pluralism

  • large, healthy, freely organized civil society where policymaking authorities are influenced by civil society organizations

    • organizations are in free competition with each other

• Corporatism

  • state controlled civil society

  • state dictates which groups are allowed to provide their input

• Rule OF Law

  • all people bound to the same laws

  • democratic

• Rule BY Law

  • law is malleable

  • authoritarian

• Liberal Democracies

  • hold free, fair, and competitive elections

• Illiberal Democracies

  • not actually a democracy!!!

  • hold elections that are not free, fair, and competitive

  • solely there to increase legitimacy

• Kinds of Democracies (check over these)

  • Consolidated

    • political system where democratic institutions and practices are well-established, stable, and widely accepted by citizens over an extended period of time

  • Traditional

    • equality in voting

    • effective participation

    • enlightened understanding

    • citizen control of agenda

    • inclusion

  • Modern

    • set of values that comes along with industrialization

    • such as rationalism, materialism, technology, etc

  • Post-Modern

    • set of values that emphasizes quality of life over concern for material gain

  • Procedural

    • meet minimum requirements of democracy

    • have free and fair elections for real policymakers

  • Substantive

    • citizens have access to multiple sources of information

    • strong civil society

• Common Traits of Democracy

  • level of rule of law

  • fairness of elections

  • transparency of the state’s internal decision making-processes

• Interest Groups

  • organizations that advocate for specific policy interests or social causes

Authoritarian Regimes

• Definition

  • non-democratic rule

  • invest political authority into a small group of individuals

  • authority is exercised without any constitutional responsibility to the public

  • people do not have a viable constitutional mechanism to remove one government and replace it with another

  • different from totalitarianism

• Common Traits

  • economic factors

    • income inequality

    • very small/no middle class

  • social factors

    • political culture

      • statism— authoritarianism was essential to survive → controlling nature is expected

        • tendency to trust in the state for security and provision of basic needs

        • Russia!

  • religious factors

    • Catholicism and Islam establish formal religious hierarchies → levels of authority don’t change → slower to develop, modernize, and democratize

• Means of Control

  • Coercion

    • forcefully compel people to submit

  • Media Control

    • censors content citizens see

  • Restrictions on Civil Society

    • require groups to register with state monitoring agencies

    • blocking groups from officially registering

    • censorship of a group’s messaging

    • banning NGOs

      • non-governmental organizations

    • arresting organizers/participants of protest demonstrations

    • still around to increase legitimacy

• Political Opposition

  • most authoritarian regimes stage elections → have to make sure no one else wins

  • arrests opposition leaders and candidates for crimes

    • Alexei Navalny- embezzlement

  • disqualifying candidate or party for technical reasons

  • miscounting votes

  • restricting candidates media access

    • can’t get their message out

• Cooptation

  • bring groups/individuals into a beneficial relationship with the state → do not challenge legitimacy of the regime

• Corporatism

  • interest groups organize into one body → negotiate and represents them with the state

  • organization has a special relationship with the state → TECHNICALLY civil society

  • form of cooptation

  • seen in all course countries

• Patron-Clientelism

  • rulers place people into key positions of power → that power is abused for personal gain

  • those individuals are entrusted to put people in positions of power below them and continue the cycle

  • result— large hierarchal pyramid of loyalty and favor-trading → very hard to challenge the power of the state

  • another form of cooptation

• Corruption

  • power v. authority

    • power— ability to get people to do things they otherwise would not do

    • authority— having an official position with a defined role given by the state

  • corruption is the abuse of a position of authority for personal gain

• Types of Authoritarian Regimes

  • Totalitarianism

    • also called a personality cult

    • leader is portrayed as a (near) perfect version of the nation’s aspirations

    • leader becomes unifying symbol of the pride and patriotism of the people → legitimacy

    • ex: Mao, Stalin

  • Military Rule

    • result of a coup d’état

    • military is in charge of policy-making

    • ex: Nigeria (not present)

  • One-Party State

    • only one political party is able to compete for and exercise political power

    • sometimes the restriction is the law, sometimes corruption ensures it

      • China— CCP are the only ones allowed to be in charge

      • Mexico— result of major patron-client network

  • Illiberal Democracy

    • regimes with elections but lack other features of liberal democracy

    • elections are often rigged, only occur to increase legitmacy

    • ex: Russia

  • Theocracy

    • rule by God

    • positions of power held by religious leaders

    • ex: Iran

Political Economic Systems

• Neoliberalism

  • process of economically liberalizing a country by reducing government intervention

  • increases competitiveness → encourages economic development

• Privatization

  • putting ownership into non-governmental organizations and people

  • state owned → public

    • nationalization is the opposite

• Austerity

  • cutting public spending and reliance on government → balances budget and reduces debt

    • harmful to public well-being

    • gets rid of many social welfare programs

• Protectionism

  • opposite of economic liberalization

  • government creates trade barriers → boosts domestic industry

    • isolates economy

  • Tariffs

    • taxes on imported goods

    • helps producers not consumers

  • Quotas

    • limits quantity of imported goods allowed

  • Subsidies

    • money given by the government

  • tariffs, quotas, and subsidies make domestic goods more attractive to consumers → nationalization brings back control of industries

• Economic Development

  • Import Substitution Industrialization

    • protectionist process

    • want to economically develop your own country without relying on foreign imports and assistance → can compete with foreign countries

    • increase tariffs, encourage domestic production and self-sufficiency

  • Structural Adjustment Programs

    • neoliberal programs designed to help countries become more attractive to investors

    • privatizing businesses, removing tariffs, reducing government expenditures

    • increases economic growth but can increase poverty and limit access to services

  • Foreign Direct Investment

    • investments from foreign countries

    • brings in money but can lead to debt & erosion of state sovereignty

• Economic Measures

  • GDP

    • measures economic growth

    • total market value of all goods + services produced

    • doesn’t account for how people are doing

      • quality of life, debt, worth of money

  • GDP Per Capita

    • GDP divided by number of people

    • doesn’t account for inequality

  • Gini Index

    • coefficient that measures economic inequality in a society

    • scale of 0-1, usually expressed as a percentage

      • 0 is good, 1 is bad

        • 0 is perfect equality

    • only measures distribution of wealth, not the average

  • HDI

    • measures basic standard of living

    • 0-1

      • 0 is bad, 1 is good

        • 1 is highest possible human development

    • doesn’t measure inequalities, only average development

• Developed Countries

  • Developed

    • industrialized/post-industrial

    • service economy

    • higher incomes

    • ex: UK

  • Developing

    • somewhat industrialized

    • manufacturing economy

    • middle incomes

    • ex: Mexico

  • Least-Developed

    • very little industrialization

    • agriculture economies

    • low income

    • ex: Somalia

• IMF, World Bank, WTO

  • International Monetary Fund

    • provides loans

    • helps countries develop policy programs

  • World Bank

    • helps with long-term economic development

    • helps reduce poverty

  • World Trade Organization

    • manages rules of trade between nations

• Globalization

  • increasing connection between people, cultures, economies, and nation-states

  • result of technology, trade, cultural diffusion, etc

  • lifted countries out of poverty

  • creates competition

  • creates multinational corporations

• Supranational Organizations

  • organizations that go above nations

  • nations give up some sovereignty

  • people don’t always like decisions and how it affects their countries

    • lack of control

  • ex: UN, EU, WHO, NATO, etc

• Resource Curse

  • countries with an abundance of one resource experience slow economic growth

    • focus all their energy/money on one industry, neglect all else

  • focusing on export of one resource (ex:oil) → less economic diversification, political instability, corruption

  • can be lifted out through diversifying economy, strong institutions, investments in other sectors

  • ex: Venezuela

• Liberalization

  • economic liberalization happens through:

    • privatization of companies

    • free trade

    • deregulation on businesses

    • elimination of government subsidies

    • lower taxes

    • lower quotas

    • get rid of welfare programs

China

• Mao v. Deng Xiaoping v. Xi Jinping

  • CCP’s Priorities During Mao

    • loyalty over all else

    • communism

  • CCP’s Priorities During Deng Xiaoping

    • functioning economy

    • skill over anything else

      • “No matter if it is a white cat or a black cat; as long as it can catch mice, it is a good cat.”

    • cleaned up mess Mao left

    • experimentation

  • CCP’s Priorities During Xi Jinping

    • loyalty (cult of personality)

    • anti-corruption campaign

• State

  • China is a one-party and unitary state

    • all power is concentrated in the CCP

  • has a state-capitalist economy

    • Government in charge of economy— nationalized organizations and industries

• Head of State

  • Xi Jinping in charge of like everything

    • he’s general secretary of CCP, chairman of central military commission, and president (represents China globally)

    • technically elected by NPC, but nominated by CCP (him winning was a given)

• Ethnic Minorities

  • CCP recognizes ethnic minorities → allows them autonomy in respective regions

    • CCP tolerates languages and religions

    • did not have to follow one-child policy

    • China still very much in charge

  • China wants to increase control in largest ethnic regions

    • Xinjiang, Tibet, Taiwan

    • installed own candidate for Dalai Lama in Tibet

    • claims Taiwan is part of China

    • Violent relationship with Uighurs

      • reeducation camps

      • persecution

  • 55 officially recognized

  • supposedly represented in NPC and local levels

    • not a lot of representation

• Century of Humiliation

  • China lost international dignity and territory for roughly a century → want avenge/prove themselves to the world

• China’s Political Culture

  • Confucian vales

    • strong sense of hierarchy and societal roles

  • ethnocentrism and isolationism

    • ethnocentrism— evaluating other cultures according to standards of their own

  • toleration of strong leaders

  • self-censorship

  • acceptance of guanxi

  • not exciting elections

• CCP Membership

  • extremely important for moving up in business careers

  • extremely serious process

    • 2-3 year process

    • applications, interviews, connections

    • must make sure you are in line with how the party works

  • source of great pride— part of the elite (feels like it)

• Women’s Roles

  • very little say

  • most focused on caretaking and domestic duties

  • very little women in workforce and government

  • Xi is against feminism

• Guanxi

  • extreme networking

  • good connections and reputation is essential to move up

  • draw on connections to secure favors in personal relations

  • can get away with a lot

• Cleavages (urban & rural)

  • Hukou System

    • restrict’s rural resident’s ability to access same services as urban residents

    • rights defined by where you live

    • hard to change residency

    • result— migrant workers with temporary Hukous → not a lot of access → inequality between rural and urban citizens

• One-Child Policy

  • long term effects

    • huge imbalance of population

      • 35 million more boys than girls

    • having one child is the norm → not helping to fix the population

  • government implementing new incentives for women to have more children

• Media Control

  • CCP monitors everything on the internet

  • increase in censorship under Xi

  • theoretically free speech but anything that exposes state secrets and endangers country can be censored— very vague definition

  • level of censorship dependent on attention attracted

• Civil Society

  • allowed but only to a certain extent

  • government controls access to policy making through relationships with State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs)

    • corporatist

  • mass protesting not allowed— especially after Tiananmen Square

• Deng Xiaoping & The Economy

  • focused on gradual economic reform

    • didn’t care about the system as long as it worked

  • got rid of communes (private farming)

  • encouraged supply & demand economy

  • created special economic zones

    • areas subject to different economic regulations

    • affect FDIs

• Government & Party

  • CCP controls the state, economy— literally everything

  • government and CCP are parallel organizations

    • government has authority, but CCP influences everything they do

• National People’s Congress

  • “most powerful institution”

    • NOT TRUE

  • in charge of legislature, elections, decision making

    • CCP has actual power

  • Premier

    • head of NPC

    • comes from the standing committee

    • oversees state council

    • approved by NPC

• Standing Committee

  • directly under Xi

  • 7 members

  • responsible for making key decisions

• Politburo

  • under standing committee

  • 25 members

    • including 7 on standing committee

  • top government and military officials, regional chiefs, head of important party organizations

• People’s Liberation Army

  • controlled by Central Military Commission— controlled by Xi

• General Secretary of CCP

  • highest role in CCP

  • oversees literally everything

  • approves all decision making

• Judiciary

  • not independent of free

  • listens to CCP

  • rule by law

  • citizens need to prove their innocence— often through guanxi

• Diagrams

  

Russia

• Asymmetric Federalism

  • power is split up unequally

  • different ethnic minorities have different amounts of power

  • central government still has most power

• Mongol Invasion

  • cut Russia off from Western Development

• Tsarist Russia

  • absolutist and autocratic while rest of world experiencing Enlightenment

  • political culture is used to strong leaders and authoritarian rule

• Political Culture

  • statism

    • used to strong role of state in society

    • rely on state for stability and order— especially after USSR and shock therapy

  • distrust of politicians

    • think they are corrupt

  • mistrust and suspicion of western ideals (democracy and individualism)

  • corruption deeply embedded

• Politics & Economy under Communism

  • Politically

    • democratic centralist government

      • small, elite leadership had all the power

  • Economy

    • command economy

      • government owns all resources and makes all economic decisions

    • quotas to run production of goods

      • not stable or fair

      • low quality goods

• Gorbachev: Glasnost, Perestroika, Democratization

  • led to end of USSR

  • Glasnost

    • political openness

    • more free speech

    • loosening control and power

  • Perestroika

    • slow privatization (economy)

    • failed terribly

  • Democratization

    • limited democracy through elected congress

      • they elect president

    • slowly becoming more democratic

• 1993 Constitution

  • referendum

  • created 3 branches of government after USSR collapse

• Yeltsin

  • Shock Therapy

    • abrupt switch from command economy to free-market economy

    • huge increase in inflation

    • nobody knew how to do anything

    • economy STRUGGLED

  • Yeltsin was a mess— always drunk

• Oligarchs

  • very rich business leaders with lots of political influence

  • rose to power through connections, taking over former state-owned properties, controlling big industries (ex: oil)

  • Putin has neutralized power of the oligarchs

    • ones that won’t align with Putin— exiled, charged with embezzlement, or killed

    • took all the power for himself

• Putin’s Rise to Power

  • former KGB

    • rose through ranks by being lucky & Yeltsin needed someone loyal

  • selected by oligarchs because loyal and competent

  • supposedly orchestrated terrorist attack → could come in and fix the mess → increased his support

• Putin’s Terms

  • 2000-2004

    • stability

  • 2004-2008

    • economic growth

  • 2012-2016

    • growing international power

• Putin’s 7 Reforms

  • creation of federal super districts → more centralized government (lowers local powers)

    • president appoints governors

  • power to remove governors (who aren’t following Putin)

  • power to appoint governors

    • overturned in 2012

  • federation council reform— governors Putin appointed choose members in legislative branch

  • managing elections

    • qualified opponents often disqualified or shot

    • hard to get on ballot if not part of Duma

  • Duma election reform

    • elections changed to PR & raised threshold

      • easier for United Russia to get representation

  • extended presidential terms from 4 to 6 years

• Chechnya

  • Muslim ethnic group

  • semi-autonomous region within Russia → series of terrorism and separatism

  • Chechen Wars

    • first about Chechen independence

    • second was Islamist cause

    • Putin created 7 super districts with governors appointed by him → maintained control over minorities

• Religion

  • majority Russian Orthodox

    • increasingly close relationship between church and state

  • form of legitimacy for Putin— if church approves of him he must be good → nationalism

  • conservative values in contrast to western values

• Civil Society

  • historically weak civil society

    • low political efficacy

    • Putin restricts media heavily

  • Youth groups exist but in Putin’s interests and funded by Kremlin

    • corporatist

    • Nashi

      • conservative views, nationalist, supposedly anti-fascist

  • groups are frequent targets of harassment and arrests

  • NGOs

    • have to be approved— many are denied

    • very little foreign funding

    • can be shut down at any time

• Illiberal Democracy (?)

  • competitive authoritarian regime

    • rigged elections

  • elites support Putin → managed democracy

• Political Parties

  • United Russia

    • catch-all party

      • no real policy platform

      • created by political elites to support them

    • party to support Putin

    • usually win since Russia is a dominant party system

      • allow other parties but rig it so they win

  • Communist Party of Russian Federation

    • created after Yeltsin banned communist party

    • holds no real threat to Putin → easy to get name on ballot

  • Liberal Democratic Party

    • extremely conservative and right

    • poses no threat to Putin → easy to get name on ballot

• Alexei Navalny

  • Russian opposition leader

    • huge threat to Putin

  • worked to uncover corruption of Putin and the government

  • hero to the people, extremist threat to government → arrested for embezzlement → poisoned → imprisoned → died in prison

• Media Control

  • Pravda

    • soviet state-run newspaper

    • subscription required

  • everything state controlled

    • began during Yeltsin → increased during Putin

  • freedom of press supposedly exists but journalism criticizing Putin is punished

• President

  • issue decrees without Duma approval

  • suspend local laws

  • nominate judges

  • issue pardons and reprieves

  • determines foreign affairs

  • negotiates treaties

  • dissolve Duma

  • oversees bureaucracy

  • appoints PM and governors

• Prime Minister

  • appointed by president and approved by Duma

  • head of government

  • represents president’s policies and carries them out

  • currently Mikhail Mishustin

• Legislative Branch

  • Upper house

    • Federation Council

    • approves budget legislation, treaties, and judicial nominees

    • people are appointed

  • Lower house

    • Duma

    • passes legislation, confirms PM

    • people are elected

    • can theoretically impeach the president, but he can dissolve the Duma

• Judiciary

  • Constitutional Court

    • members appointed by president

    • exercises judicial review

      • doesn’t actually do this

    • rule by law

  • Supreme Court

    • highest level of civil and criminal cases

    • judicial review not allowed

• 2011-2012 Protests

  • inspired by Arab Spring

    • called for more government accountability

  • Russians protested against election results

    • claimed they were fraudulent

      • kind of were

  • huge amounts of protests → scared Putin

  • reforms!

    • direct election of governors

    • reduction in required signatures to register a political party

• Demographic Trends

  • bad levels of alcoholism and HIV/AIDS → increase in death rates

  • increase in emigration out of Russia

    • especially after 2011/2012 protests