Civil Society and Protest in Putin's Russia

Lindsay Hapak* and Boris Barkanov

Department of Political Science and International Studies, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506

Presentation Category: Oral-Behavioral & Social Sciences (Oral Presentation #39)

Student’s Major: Political Science

With democracy decreasing around the world, more civil societies are developing. Civil society refers to the autonomous sphere of activity that is initiated, coordinated, and executed by citizens. Russia offers a unique opportunity to expand the understanding of civil society under an authoritarian-like regime in a postcommunist context. This research aims to comprehend the internal mechanisms of civil society and protests in Putin’s Russia through the democratization framework and pragmatic approach while incorporating the political culture of Russian citizens. I study the effectiveness of the theoretical frameworks through a close literature reading of Alfred B. Evans Jr’s work in Civil Society and Protest. I propose that as Putin’s regime takes on an increasingly authoritarian character and can no longer derive legitimacy from providing services to the people, there will be an increase in demand from civil society for democratic political institutions. The democratization framework analyzes the ability of a robust civil society to create democratic political institutions versus the pragmatic approach which emphasizes the relationships between nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the state to provide services for the Russian people. The democratization framework presents struggles as the trends of civil society after the collapse of the Soviet Union are discouraring. The pragmatic approach offers more positive developments between the state and civil society, as there has been a recent increase in domestic funding towards NGOs. I hope to expand upon this research to further understand the prospects of civil society under Putin’s regime, and apply it to other cases.

Funding:

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: WVU's Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP) & accompanying HONR 297-level course