Network governance in Russia: an analytical framework

ABSTRACT

This article questions the widely held notions of Russian exceptionalism as regards its state–society relations, arguing that the conceptual tools used to study governance in other regions and contexts are applicable in Russia, opening the potential for fruitful comparisons and dialogue. Our analytical framework for studying Russian governance emphasises the concept of networking. We posit that even in contemporary hybrid authoritarian regimes the state is dependent on interactive governance arrangements involving civil society actors. The article applies the analytical framework to an initial synthesis of findings from studies of Russian governance, reported elsewhere in the symposium.

KEYWORDS:

• Russia
• network
• governance
• state
• civil society
• regime

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers and the authors of the other articles in this symposium.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Jonathan Davies is Professor of Critical Policy Studies at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK. He has published widely on governance theory and is currently leading a major ESRC study on austerity governance in eight countries. He is Director of De Montfort University’s Centre for Urban Research on Austerity.

Jørn Holm-Hansen is a Political Scientist and Senior Researcher and at the Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research (NIBR). His research concentrates on political and administrative processes in Russian and East European countries. He is currently the leader of a three-year international project on welfare reforms and political mobilisation in Russia.

Vadim Kononenko currently works at the European Parliament’s Directorate General for External Policies. His previous employment was with the Finnish Institute of International Affairs where he conducted research on governance in Russia, particularly in the field of energy policies. He is a co-editor of “Russia as a Network State. What works in Russia when state institutions do not?”.

Asbjørn Røiseland is a Senior Researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research (NIBR) and Professor in Political Science at University of Nordland. His main research interests are local and regional governance and democracy, including network governance and partnerships. Among his research projects are several comparative studies, including comparative studies of local governance in Canada, Russia, and Norway.

Additional information

Funding

This article was funded by the Research Council of Norway’s NORRUSS Programme [grant number 220615].