Регионы России и мира в сравнительной перспективе

Магистратура 2020/2021

Статус: Курс обязательный (Российские исследования/Russian Studies)

Направление: 41.04.04. Политология

Кто читает: Департамент политики и управления

Где читается: Факультет социальных наук

Когда читается: 1-й курс, 1, 2 модуль

Формат изучения: без онлайн-курса

Преподаватели: Гайворонский Юрий Олегович

Прогр. обучения: Российские исследования

Язык: английский

Кредиты: 5

Контактные часы: 48

Full Syllabus

Abstract

The course provides students with the knowledge of regional (subnational) political development in Russia and abroad. Russian regional dimension gives us a range of political practices despite reforms of political and territorial centralization in the 21th century. The topic has been in high demand today and can be studied in comparative perspective. Regions as political entities can be well studied using different cases of federal states: from classic examples of USA and Switzerland to federal arrangements in Nigeria and Malaysia. This comparative view helps us to understand the state-territorial composition of Russia. Political regions can also be found in some unitary states. It is proposed in the course to study regionalization exploring regions of the UK (Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland), Spain (Catalonia), France (overseas territories) etc. Regionalism and regional separatism are studied using cases of post-Soviet space as well. The course also sheds light on the issues of regional management focusing on Russian regions. There is special attention on subnational autonomy in the context of the evolution of center-periphery relations under Vladimir Putin. The role of political parties (especially “United Russia”) and elections is also going to be explored through the regional dimension. The course introduces the students relevant literature on regional lobbyism and political consequences of fiscal federalism in USA, Russia and Latin America.

Learning Objectives

to provide students with main political developments, trends and structures in regions of Russia and the World
to learn students to see comparative perspectives of different political institutions and processes

Expected Learning Outcomes

students will know key concepts of federalism
students will know know key information about regional developments in decentralized countries
students will be able to assess the level of subnational autonomy, competition, and quality of institutional performance
students will be able to analyze Russian regional political development
students will know issues of social and political integration of Crimea into the Russian social and political space
students will be able to analyze regional elections in Russia
students will know the structure and dynamics of intergovernmental transfers in Russia
students will know political developments of regions of the Post-Soviet space

Course Contents

Regions as Political Entities: Comparative Federalism
The origins and features of federalism. Why federalism? The Federal Matrix. The variety of federal arrangements. Federalism and democracy. The Western (classic) patterns of federalization: Switzerland, USA. Non-western federations: Nigeria, Malaysia, India. Regional asymmetry. Federalism Russia-style.
Regionalization in the Modern World
Regional autonomy in decentralized countries. Devolution in the United Kingdom. Regionalism after Regionalization in western countries. Catalonia. French overseas territories. Chinese autonomies: Macau and Hong Kong. Territorial identity and regionalism: Brittany, Galicia.
How Russia works: regional and local level
Evolution of center-regions relationships: from “weak center – strong regions” to “strong center – weak regions”. Leviathan returns: overcentralization. How to control regions: Chief Federal Inspectors, regional offices of FSB, MVD, prosecution, investigative committee. “Natives” and “Outlanders”: the dynamics of gubernatorial appointments (2005-2019). Principles and causes of dismissals of governors. Minchenko’s rating of survival of governors. Regional socio-political stability. Regional elites. Governors-“outlanders” and political conflicts in regions. Regional lobbyism and representation. Local regimes and governance.
Regional Integration in Russia: the case of Crimea
Breaking region out of Ukrainian political and socio-economic space and its embedding into Russian space. Shifts in internal political and managerial design in the Republic of Crimea and city of Sevastopol. Political parties, law enforcement, local self-administration. Ethnic composition and settlement system, Crimean tatars. Status of Crimea and Sevastopol. Representation of federal interests in Crimea and of Crimean interests in Moscow. Crimean federal district.
Regional Dimension of Elections in Russia and abroad
Regional electoral competition. Effective numbers of parties and candidates. Regionalization vs. nationalization of voting. Electoral space. Electoral reforms in Russia: implantation of “United Russia” into regions. Voting in urban agglomerations and republics at Presidential and Parliamentary elections in Russia. Social cleavages in Western Democracies. Elections in Ukraine: western vs. eastern regions. Old and new social cleavages: regions of Germany and Poland.
Regions in the Post-Soviet Space
Mixture of pre-Soviet, Soviet and post-Soviet features. New borders and their delimitation, demarcation and construction, border regimes. Socio-economic space transformation. The case of Russian-Ukrainian border and development of Chernozem regions across it. Schemes of administrative-territorial composition. Border disputes and ethnic-territorial conflicts. Secessionism and irredentism. Non-recognized states: Nagorny Karabakh, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transnistria, Donetsk and Luhansk peoples republics. Cross-border cooperation.
Subnational Authoritarianism
Boundary control: how subnational authoritarianism survives. Subnational non-democratic regimes in Mexico and Argentina. Neo-Patrimonialism: the case of Oaxaca. Regional political regimes: autonomy, competition, quality of institutional performance. Regional regimes in Russia: from moderate competition to warlordism.
Regions as winners and losers: distribution of federal transfers
The structure of intergovernmental transfers in Russia: grants, subsidies, and subventions. Current dynamics and distribution of transfers. Political sensitive transfers. Intergovernmental transfers and the “pork barrel” politics: the role of regional competition and lobbying. The distributive politics and public employment. The influence of geopolitical vulnerability on the distributive politics.

Assessment Elements

Participation in discussions
Students are expected to read the readings listed for each lecture before class on the day of that lecture. Each seminar a student can earn 1 point participating in discussions. The student should discuss issues showing familiarity with readings, news or reports. At the end of the course the points will be summed (max=10)
Report (Presentation)
Essay
Each student should write a 3000-word essay.
Exam
A student will be provided with 2 randomly selected questions from the list. It is allowed to choose one of them. A student has got 10 min to prepare herself/himself for the oral reply.

Interim Assessment

Interim assessment (2 module)
0.2 * Essay + 0.3 * Exam + 0.25 * Participation in discussions + 0.25 * Report (Presentation)

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

Burgess, M. (2006). Comparative Federalism : Theory and Practice. London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=171008
Chebankova, E. A. (2010). Russia’s Federal Relations : Putin’s Reforms and Management of the Regions. London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=301270
Czachor, R. (2016). Between sustainability and uncertainty. Political systems of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic – conditions and features. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.D72D8333
Ekaterina Zhuravskaya. (2010). Federalism in Russia. Working Papers. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.p.abo.neswpt.w0141
Elazar, D. J. (1991). Exploring Federalism (Vol. [1991]). Tuscaloosa, AL: University Alabama Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=23320
Gelʹman, V. (2003). Making and Breaking Democratic Transitions : The Comparative Politics of Russia’s Regions. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=91292
Gibson, E. L. (2012). Boundary Control : Subnational Authoritarianism in Federal Democracies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=498282
Irina M. Busygina, & Elmira Taukebaeva. (2015). Federalism or a Unitary State as a Strategic Choice and Its Consequences (Comparative Analysis of Russia and Kazakhstan). Sravnitelʹnaâ Politika, (1(18)), 101. https://doi.org/10.18611/2221-3279-2015-6-1(18)-101-110
Israel Marques II, Eugenia Nazrullaeva, & Andrei Yakovlev. (2016). Substituting Distribution for Growth: The Political Logic of Intergovernmental Transfers in the Russian Federation. Economics and Politics, (1), 23. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecpo.12070
Jorge Martinez-Vazquez. (2007). Asymmetric Federalism in Russia: Cure or Poison? Chapters. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.h.elg.eechap.3864.8
Kudelia, S. (2017). The Donbas Rift. Russian Social Science Review, 58(2/3), 212–234. https://doi.org/10.1080/10611428.2017.1316062
Mitchell, J. (2009). Devolution in the UK. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=514971
Mookherjee, D., & Bardhan, P. K. (2006). Decentralization and Local Governance in Developing Countries : A Comparative Perspective. Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=163977
Petrov, N. (2016). Crimea. Russian Politics & Law, 54(1), 74–95. https://doi.org/10.1080/10611940.2015.1160715
Reuter, O. J., & Robertson, G. B. (2012). Subnational Appointments in Authoritarian Regimes: Evidence from Russian Gubernatorial Appointments. Journal of Politics, 74(4), 1023–1037. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022381612000631
Ross, C. (2012). Federalism and democratisation in Russia. Germany, Europe: Manchester Univ. Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.6C7EE20
Schrijver, F. J. (2007). Regionalism After Regionalisation : Spain, France and the United Kingdom. [Amsterdam]: Amsterdam University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=174903
Sharafutdinova, G. (2010). Subnational Governance in Russia: How Putin Changed the Contract with His Agents and the Problems It Created for Medvedev. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.106D3AF7
Treisman, D. (2018). The New Autocracy : Information, Politics, and Policy in Putin’s Russia. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1689235
Turovsky, R., & Gaivoronsky, Y. (2017). Russia’s regions as winners and losers: political motives and outcomes in the distribution of federal government transfers. European Politics & Society, 18(4), 529–551. https://doi.org/10.1080/23745118.2017.1286312

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Cole, A., & Stafford, I. (2015). Devolution and Governance : Wales Between Capacity and Constraint. Basingstoke: Palgrave Pivot. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1172818
Durazo Herrmann, J. (2010). Neo-patrimonialism and subnational authoritarianism in Mexico : the case of Oaxaca / Julián Durazo Herrmann. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.38985350X
Gelman, V. (2010). The Dynamics of Subnational Authoritarianism: (Russia in Comparative Perspective). Russian Politics & Law, 48(2), 7–26. https://doi.org/10.2753/RUP1061-1940480201
Giraudy, A. (2012). The politics of subnational undemocratic regime reproduction in Argentina and Mexico. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.91C83F18
Giraudy, A. (DE-588)1068883413, (DE-576)428241743. (2010). The politics of subnational undemocratic regime reproduction in Argentina and Mexico / Agustina Giraudy. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.389853488
ROSS, C., & TUROVSKY, R. (2015). Centralized but Fragmented: The Regional Dimension of Russia’s “Party of Power.” Demokratizatsiya, 23(2), 205–223. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=asn&AN=102849699
Russian patronage over Abkhazia and South Ossetia: implications for conflict resolution. (2016). East European Politics, 32(3), 297–313. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsnar&AN=edsnar.oai.openaccess.leidenuniv.nl.1887.73992
Sharafutdinova, G., & Kisunko, G. (2014). Governors and governing institutions: a comparative study of state-business relations in Russia’s regions. Policy Research Working Paper Series. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.p.wbk.wbrwps.7038
Sharafutdinova, G., & Turovsky, R. (2016). The Politics of Federal Transfers in Putin’s Russia:Regional Competition, Lobbying and Federal Priorities. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.3A0C7FD4
Tulia G. Falleti. (2004). intergovernmental relations, and decentralization, with a research focus on Latin America. Her recent publications include “Unity by the Stick: Regional Conflict and the Origins of Argentine Federalism ” (with Edward Gibson), and “Reallocative Federalism. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.A6BF7FDE

Course Syllabus