Anatomy of a Blockade
Standstill in the Dual State of Russia
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
To this day, Russia remains a classic example of the transformation state. Fundamental decisions await solution, but the regime is unable to act. The political order is divided; a dual state has emerged. The constitutional state, with its formal institutions and processes, is blocked by an administrative state, in which groups pursue their own interests through informal practices and thus undermine the constitutional order. Liberal and traditionalist strata block one another. Economic modernisation makes no headway. Russia is at an impasse. There is no way out unless a social consensus emerges and constitutional rule returns – with President Vladimir Putin no less than without him.
(Osteuropa 6-8/2012, pp. 45–54)