Theories of Democracy in Comparison: The Russian Case. Output-oriented Legitimacy, Defect Democracy, Political Culture, Path Dependence and Public Opinion

Table of Contents

Part 1 Introduction

1.1 State of Affairs

1.2 Hypothesis

1.3 Structure

Part 2 Theory

2.1 Democracy

A western view on the concept of democracy: Robert Dahl's Polyarchy

2.2 Legitimacy

2.2.1 Glaser: Three-Criteria Theory

2.2.2 Scharpf: Dimensions of Legitimation

2.3 Lippmann: Public Opinion

2.4 Path Dependence

2.5 Berg-Schlosser: Input/Output-Dualism and indicators of Democracy

Part 3 Case Study Russia

3.1 State of Inquiry

3.1.1 Result 1: "The Russian Political System is defect and dysfunctional"

3.1.2 Result 2: "A majority of Russians support President Putin's presidency"

3.1.3 Result 3: "Russians are in favour of democracy, respect democratic values and hope for further democratization"

3.1.4 Contradiction: Russians are fully aware of the intrinsic systemic dysfunctions and undemocratic inconsistencies, and support President Putin, although they yearn for democracy

3.2 Russian Peculiarities

3.2.1 Presidential legacy

3.2.2 Russian path dependence: The Trauma Path

3.2.3 Dubin: Dimensions of Identity – The Personal-Social Gap

Part 4 Explaining the contradiction

4.1 The Triple-S Pattern (S3P)

4.1.1 Stability

4.1.2 Security

4.1.3 Sovereignty

4.2 Legitimation through S3P

4.3 Lippmann's tools of Public Opinion shaping in the Russian context

4.4 Huntington's Development Theory and Institutionalization

Part 5 Results and further Research

5.1 Summary of Results

S3P applied to the Pussy Riot incident

5.2 Reflection and free Association

Is Democracy promotion a form of Paternalism?

Goal and Research Focus

This thesis examines the apparent contradiction in the Russian political system, where a population that seemingly yearns for democracy and is aware of systemic dysfunctions simultaneously grants high levels of support to President Putin. The work aims to identify the underlying mechanisms of value-creation in Russian history and how legitimacy is constructed through the prioritization of specific state values.

• Analysis of democratic legitimacy and its input/output dimensions.
• Evaluation of the "Triple-S Pattern" (Stability, Security, Sovereignty).
• Examination of Russian path dependence and historical trauma.
• Application of political communication theories to Russian media control.
• Case studies on the Russian political environment and the Pussy Riot incident.

Excerpt from the Book

Summary of Chapters

Part 1 Introduction: Defines the research puzzle regarding Russia's political system and sets the stage for the academic debate.

Part 2 Theory: Introduces foundational concepts including Robert Dahl’s Polyarchy, legitimacy theories by Glaser and Scharpf, and Lippmann’s public opinion framework.

Part 3 Case Study Russia: Evaluates empirical evidence regarding the Russian system, focusing on systemic defects and public support for President Putin.

Part 4 Explaining the contradiction: Develops the Triple-S Pattern (Stability, Security, Sovereignty) as an analytical tool to explain the legitimacy of the Russian regime.

Part 5 Results and further Research: Synthesizes findings, applies the theoretical model to the Pussy Riot case, and reflects on democracy promotion.

Keywords

Democracy, Legitimacy, Russia, Putin, Sovereignty, Stability, Security, Path Dependence, Public Opinion, Political Culture, Authoritarianism, Polyarchy, Media Control, Institutionalization, S3P.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is this thesis primarily about?

The work investigates why the Russian population supports President Putin despite being aware of systemic political failures and desiring democratic change.

What are the central thematic fields?

The central themes are democracy, legitimacy, path dependence, and public opinion, analyzed within the specific context of contemporary Russian politics.

What is the primary research question?

The central question is: Why does the Russian population support Putin's political system and regime?

Which scientific methods are used?

The study uses qualitative analysis of political theory and existing opinion polls to confront conflicting theoretical paradigms.

What is discussed in the main part of the thesis?

The main part analyzes the Russian political system's characteristics, historical imprints, and introduces the "Triple-S Pattern" (Stability, Security, Sovereignty) as an explanatory model.

Which keywords characterize this work?

Key terms include democracy, legitimacy, S3P, path dependence, political culture, and sovereign democracy.

What role does the "Triple-S Pattern" play in the author's argument?

The S3P is the core explanatory mechanism showing how the Russian leadership redirects public dissatisfaction toward abstract national values to gain output-oriented legitimacy.

How does the author explain the Pussy Riot incident?

The incident is analyzed as a litmus test where the regime successfully used the S3P framework to frame the protesters as a threat to national security and stability, thereby retaining legitimacy.