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Author Petersson, Bo, author.

Title The Putin predicament : problems of legitimacy and succession in Russia / Bo Petersson ; with a foreword by J. Paul Goode
Published Stuttgart : Ibidem Verlag, [2021]
©2021

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Description 1 online resource (219 pages)
Series Soviet and post-Soviet politics and society ; vol. 237
Soviet and post-Soviet politics and society ; 237.
Contents Foreword / by J. Paul Goode -- Preface and acknowledgments -- Introduction. The ratings problem ; Main material ; Delimitations ; Transliteration of Russian words and names -- Theoretical points of orientation. Political succession ; Legitimacy ; Legitimacy in non-democratic states ; Charisma and routinization ; Legitimacy and political myth -- Legitimizing Putin. The 2011-2012 legitimation crisis ; Re-legitimization : Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea ; Strength and stability ; The great power myth ; Getting out of troubles : the smuta myth ; Dynamic interplay : the phoenix myth ; The bulwark and its champion ; The man of action ; Great communicator, benevolent ruler ; Putin the populist ; Putin the common Russian -- Legitimacy through othering. Othering and Russia ; Relations with the United States ; Dealing with Trump ; Enter Joe Biden ; No more the underdog ; Paradigm shift and saber-rattling -- Challenges from within. Electoral authoritarianism in Russia ; The presidential elections of 2018 ; The Navalny challenge ; Medvedev's downfall ; Navalny vs. Putin ; The fall guy function ; Stability and order ; The good tsar -- Challenge from without. The corona crisis : devolving power ; Entering center stage--and exiting again ; The Sputnik V vaccine ; Faring better than the West? ; Skewing the statistics ; The pandemic and the image -- The succession issue. Looking to the East? ; Guarantor of the constitution? ; Successions in the Russian post-Soviet past ; Post-Soviet precedents ; Postponing the succession : the constitutional reform -- Conclusion
Summary "Using the Russian president's major public addresses as the main source, Bo Petersson analyzes the legitimization strategies employed during Vladimir Putin's third and fourth terms in office. The argument is that these strategies have rested on Putin's highly personalized blend of strongman-image projection and presentation as the embodiment of Russia's great power myth. Putin appears as the only credible guarantor against renewed weakness, political chaos, and interference from abroad--in particular from the US. After a first deep crisis of legitimacy manifested itself by the massive protests in 2011-2012, the annexation of Crimea led to a lengthy boost in Putin's popularity figures. The book discusses how the Crimea effect is, by 2021, trailing off and Putin's charismatic authority is increasingly questioned by opposition from Alexei Navalny, the effects of unpopular reforms, and poor handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, Russia is bound to head for a succession crisis as the legitimacy of the political system continues to be built on Putin's projected personal characteristics and--now apparently waning--charisma, and since no potential heir apparent has been allowed on center stage. The constitutional reform of summer 2020 made it possible in theory for Putin to continue as president until 2036. Yet, this change did not address the Russian political system's fundamental future leadership dilemma."-- Provided by publisher
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Dr. Bo Petersson has been Professor of Political Science at the Department of Global Political Studies at Malmö University, Sweden, since 2010. Previously, he has served as full professor at Lund University and senior lecturer at Uppsala University. Petersson is a co-founder and co-director of the research platform Russia and the Caucasus Regional Research (RUCARR) at Malmö University. He is a board member of The Swedish Society for the Study of Russia, Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the Swedish Network for European Studies in Political Science as well as the journal Communist and Post-Communist Studies. Dr. J. Paul Goode is Associate Professor and McMillan Chair of Russian Studies at Carleton University, Ottawa
Print version record
Subject Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich, 1952-
SUBJECT Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich, 1952- fast
Subject Legitimacy of governments -- Russia (Federation)
Legitimacy of governments
Politics and government
SUBJECT Russia (Federation) -- Politics and government -- 1991- http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh92006576
Subject Russia (Federation)
Form Electronic book
Author Goode, J. Paul (James Paul), 1971- writer of preface.
ISBN 9783838270500
3838270509