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The Russian State as Network Manager: A Theoretical Framework

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Governance in Russian Regions

Abstract

This chapter discusses analytical concepts such as governance, governance networks and ‘meta-governance’, which serve as tools to understand a Russian context that has become increasingly authoritarian over the last years. It argues that examining Russian politics through the prism of network governance theory helps to obtain a more precise understanding of how regime hybridity works in practice. The analysis corroborates that the Russian state facilitates governance networks by drawing on resources of actors from the non-state sector. The chapter also throws a critical light on the normative ‘baggage’ usually associated with network governance theory. Special attention is given to the role of the state as the ‘meta-governor’ of governance networks. In order to adapt the theoretical framework to the specific context of Russian governance some key aspects of Russia’s hybrid regime are addressed: the role of informality, and the links between network and multi-level governance. Finally, the chapter discusses the case selection and methodology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department for International Studies and Migration, NIBR Institute of Oslo and Akershus University College, Holbergs Gate 1, 0166, Oslo, Norway

    Mikkel Berg-Nordlie

  2. Department for International Studies and Migration, Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research NIBR-HiOA, Holbergs Gate 1, 0166, Oslo, Norway

    Jørn Holm-Hansen

  3. Otto Suhr Institute of Political Science, Chair of German Politics, Freie Universität Berlin, Ihnestraße 22, 14195, Berlin, Germany

    Sabine Kropp

Authors
  1. Mikkel Berg-Nordlie
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  2. Jørn Holm-Hansen
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Correspondence to Mikkel Berg-Nordlie .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Otto Suhr Institute of Political Science, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Sabine Kropp

  2. Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research (NIBR), Oslo, Norway

    Aadne Aasland

  3. Department for International Studies and Migration, Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research (NIBR), Oslo, Norway

    Mikkel Berg-Nordlie

  4. Department for International Studies and Migration, Norwegian Institute for Urban and Region, Oslo, Norway

    Jørn Holm-Hansen

  5. Institute of German and International Party Law and Party Research, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Johannes Schuhmann

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Berg-Nordlie, M., Holm-Hansen, J., Kropp, S. (2018). The Russian State as Network Manager: A Theoretical Framework. In: Kropp, S., Aasland, A., Berg-Nordlie, M., Holm-Hansen, J., Schuhmann, J. (eds) Governance in Russian Regions. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61702-2_2

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