Political Culture
This term refers to voluntary organizations that exist outside the state and help citizens express interests and values.
Civil Society
Why might Russia’s legal requirement for NGOs to register as “foreign agents” be strategically useful for the Kremlin?
What is that it delegitimizes dissenting organizations as unpatriotic, discourages foreign funding, and justifies state surveillance?
In what ways did neoliberal policies strengthen some states’ global competitiveness while simultaneously weakening their domestic legitimacy?
What is that neoliberalism increased efficiency and foreign investment through privatization and deregulation, but often deepened inequality and reduced citizens’ trust in the state’s social responsibility?
How did this principle shape political participation and party structure under Soviet communism?
What is that it centralized authority within the Communist Party, framing elite leadership as necessary for the proletariat’s interests, thus eliminating competition and suppressing civil society?
Why is Russia’s federalism considered asymmetrical, and how does this benefit the central government?
What is that regions have unequal power and autonomy, allowing the Kremlin to reward loyalty and suppress dissent through selective control rather than uniform governance?
Civil society strengthens democracy by promoting this key concept — the sense that citizens can influence government.
Political efficacy
Compare how political socialization in authoritarian regimes differs in purpose and method from that in democracies.
What is that democracies use education and media to build informed participation, while authoritarian states use propaganda and censorship to instill loyalty?
Why might Russia’s emphasis on nationalism and Orthodox identity serve as a tool of political socialization?
What is that it fosters unity around state-approved identity, discourages dissent, and aligns religious institutions with political power?
How did the transition to a market economy in the 1990s affect both political legitimacy and state capacity?
What is that rapid privatization produced inequality, oligarchic control, and economic chaos, eroding citizens’ trust in democratic reform and weakening state authority?
Explain how the “power vertical” has transformed the balance between federalism and authoritarian control.
What is that Putin restructured regional authority, appointing governors and subordinating local governments, creating de facto centralization within a nominally federal framework—blending institutional design with authoritarian consolidation
Political culture is transmitted through this lifelong process of acquiring beliefs and values about government.
Political Socialization
In Russia, civil society is legally permitted but politically restricted. How does this reflect the tension between constitutional rights and regime preservation?
What is that constitutional guarantees exist, but restrictive laws and surveillance ensure only nonthreatening groups can operate, preserving Putin’s control?
Why do some authoritarian regimes hold referenda or elections even when outcomes are predetermined?
What is that such events create a façade of legitimacy and demonstrate control while gathering symbolic support?
Evaluate how the rise of the oligarchs affected political legitimacy and regime stability under Yeltsin.
What is that concentration of wealth in few hands eroded trust in democracy, encouraged corruption, and tied economic power to political influence, making the regime appear captured by elites rather than representative of citizens?
Discuss how the judiciary’s role illustrates the difference between “rule of law” and “rule by law” in Russia.
What is that courts exist and laws are applied, but legal institutions are used to reinforce regime control—targeting opposition rather than limiting state power?
Daily Double!
Across regime types, civil society is often linked to democratization. Explain how strong civil society can both challenge and support regime legitimacy.
Evaluate how informal participation—like protest movements or online activism—differs in consequence from formal participation in Russia.
What is that formal participation reinforces state legitimacy, while informal activism risks repression but can expose cracks in regime control?
Compare how geography and history have shaped the political cultures of Russia and the United Kingdom.
What is that Russia’s history of invasions and centralization fostered statism and authoritarian values, while Britain’s gradual democratization encouraged civic trust and individualism?
In what ways did Stalin’s political methods institutionalize authoritarian control that persists in modified form in Putin’s Russia?
What is that both regimes used centralized propaganda, state security services, and suppression of opposition to maintain control, fostering a political culture that prioritizes order and loyalty over pluralism?
Why are parties like the Communist Party and the LDPR tolerated, and what function do they serve within Russia’s authoritarian political system?
What is that they create an illusion of pluralism and absorb protest votes, allowing limited expression of dissent while preventing genuine regime threats?
Compare how civil society functions differently in democratic and authoritarian regimes, citing a specific example from the AP6.
What is that democracies like the UK allow autonomous advocacy groups, while authoritarian states like China permit only state-approved NGOs under corporatism?
In what ways do Russia’s cleavages between ethnic Russians and minorities such as Chechens threaten both state legitimacy and federalism?
What is that ethnic and religious divisions fuel separatism and violence, forcing the state to centralize power further, undermining its own federal structure?
Daily Double!
Evaluate how populism can both reinforce and undermine democratic institutions, using examples from at least two AP6 countries.
Explain how the structure and ideology of the Soviet system created long-term challenges for democratization after 1991.
What is that centralized planning, suppression of civil society, and reliance on state legitimacy through ideology left weak institutions and little precedent for pluralism or independent participation after the USSR collapsed?
Daily Double
Assess the extent to which the Russian political system depends on Putin personally versus institutional design.