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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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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