The Militarization of the Russian Elite under Putin

Type of Work

Article

Date

2018

Journal Title

Problems of Post-Communism

Journal ISSN

1557-783X

Journal Volume

65

Journal Issue

4

First Page

221

Last Page

232

DOI

10.1080/10758216.2017.1295812

Abstract

This article reviews the vast literature on Russia’s transformation into a “militocracy”—a state in which individuals with career experience in Russia’s various force structures occupy important positions throughout the polity and economy—during the reign of former KGB lieutenant colonel Vladimir Putin. We show that (1) elite militarization has been extensively utilized both to describe and explain core features of Russian foreign and domestic policy; and (2) notwithstanding its widespread usage, the militocracy framework rests on a rather thin, and in some cases flawed, body of empirical research. We close by discussing the remaining research agenda on this subject and listing several alternative theoretical frameworks to which journalists and policymakers arguably should pay equal or greater attention.

Hamilton Areas of Study

Government, Russian Studies

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