Mikkel Berg-Nordlie

Encouraged but controlled: governance networks in Russian regions

ABSTRACT The article examines the role of civil society in Russian governance networks, focusing on power relations between state and non-state actors. The analysis is based on empirical evidence from concrete governance networks in two major cities, St. Petersburg and Samara, that handle complex social issues – integration of migrants, drug prevention, and child protection. Power asymmetries are reflected in tight state control of governance networks’ agenda, membership, and opportunity to affect policy. The governance networks are first and foremost advisory bodies with very limited decision-making authority.

Need and Misery in the Eastern Periphery: Nordic Sámi Media Debate on the Kola Sámi

Abstract This article investigates Nordic Sámi discourse on the Kola (Russian) Sámi through analysis of texts from Sámi newspapers and journals 1992–2009. Among the findings are that the relationship between Nordic and Kola Sámi is frequently discussed as a donor–recipient pattern similar to that of general Western discourse on “the [global] South” and the 1990s’ “great misery discourse” on Russia. This portrayal of the Kola Sámi is here referred to as “the discourse of need”. However, the study also finds that this most divergent subgroup of the Sámi people is accepted into the border-transcending Sámi “nation” without question – it is never challenged that they are part of a larger “us”. The article also comments on some similarities between the discourse on the Kola Sámi as a “suffering” group, and certain patterns in Nordic Sámi self-representation. In comparison, a selection of non-Sámi media texts displayed less interest in the Kola Sámi; their paying attention to the group was more dependent on its members being perceived as victims of crisis and/or injustice; and they articulated the discourse of need more often. The two decades from which texts were drawn (1990s and 2000s) differed mainly by the latter period showing a general decrease in interest in the group; and by Sámi media being less dominated by the discourse of need, and containing more texts portraying the Kola Sámi as culturally and politically active.

“The state cannot help them all”. Russian media discourse on the inclusion of non-state actors in governance

ABSTRACT This article investigates positions on network governance-type arrangements in Russian non-oppositional media. State-based actors articulated a discourse of mutual dependency, akin to observations in liberal parliamentary democracies. The state described itself as possessing necessary funding and competence to regulate and coordinate, while non-state actors were described as possessing resources necessary to fulfil state policy. Non-state actors occasionally cast doubt on the states competence to regulate, but fears of state cooptation were rarely articulated. The hegemonic discourse on mutual dependency, and the state as an active network manager, mirrors the observed growth of state-controlled arenas for civil society inclusion in Russia.

Two Centuries of Russian Sámi Policy: Arrangements for Autonomy and Participation Seen in Light of Imperial, Soviet and Federal Indigenous Minority Policy 1822–2014

Abstract This article reviews arrangements for Russian Sámi self-government during the Late Imperial (1822–1917), Soviet (1917–1991) and Federal (1992–) Eras of Russian history, comparing them to developments in the countrys general indigenous minority policy. Since the Soviet Era, indigenous minority policy has been delimited to a subset of the countrys actual indigenous nations – smaller groups traditionally involved in certain rural economic activities. State paternalism, the framing of indigenous minority policy as giving aid to weak groups, is a constant trait of Russian indigenous minority policy. This paternalism has been channelled towards different goals at different times – the building of Communist nations, assimilation, or traditionalist preservationism. Indigenous minority policy has generally been weakly institutionalized, and its interests come into conflict with stronger actors who anchor their political activity in northern economic development and state security. Different forms of territorial autonomy have been practiced throughout the period, non-territorial arrangements becoming more common only in the Federal Era. Russian Sámi politics generally match the national trends but are a case of particularly weak indigenous autonomy and participation. A very case-specific phenomenon is the Federal Era conflict over whether or not to import the Nordic Sámi Parliament model. Case-specifics are explained by the weak demographic position of the Russian Sámi, the lack of any significant symbolic connection between the province and its indigenous people, and the border-proximity and border-transcendence of the Sámi people, which has repeatedly been used to frame their activism as a security concern.

Governance in Russian Regions

This book investigates the emergence and working of governance networks in contemporary Russia. Drawing on a case study design, it provides a novel comparison of seven policy issues each investigated across various Russian regions or over time. Its authors reveal that governance networks are a ubiquitous phenomenon emerging in different regime types. It sheds light on how and why state authorities interact with non-state actors and unravels various types, functions and flavours of governance networks in Russia. By precisely tracing how state authorities govern networks under the terms of a hybrid regime, special emphasis is placed on the analysis of ‘meta-governance’ tools. Moreover, the book allows for theorising on governance in an increasingly authoritarian regime and thus can also be read as a unique contribution to research on governance theory in general. Creating a clear analytical framework it reflects the richness of governance theory and offers fresh perspectives on the nature of hybrid and ‘new’ authoritarian regimes. This original work will appeal to students and scholars of Russian Studies, public policy, political science, sociology, and public administration.

The Russian State as Network Manager: A Theoretical Framework

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.

Climate Change Adaptation: Governance in a Fragmented and Unsettled Policy Area

The article discusses climate change adaptation in two Russian cities. As a policy challenge, climate change adaptation in Russia is characterised by not having been defined as one policy area. In addition to the sectors of emergency control and hydro-meteorological management, also nature protection, urban planning, public health and municipal infrastructure are involved in activities relevant for climate change adaptation. The study identifies elements of governance networks and mixes of governance modes within these policy fields but to a very little degree across them. The chapter argues that urban climate change adaptation beyond mere incremental measures is likely to benefit from forms of network governance between authorities (urban planning agencies), civil society (like residents and environmental groups) and business (developers and insurance companies).

Substitution in Sápmi. Meta-Governance and Conflicts Over Representation in Regional Indigenous Governance

Chapter eight sheds light on regional governance in the field of indigenous politics through a detailed study of reforms of official structures for indigenous political participation in Murmansk region 2006–2014. The chapter accounts for regional authorities’ attempts to meta-govern indigenous governance networks; activists’ attempts to escape meta-governance through the establishment of an independent representative organ; division in indigenous civil society over how to reform regional indigenous governance; networking between Russian indigenous activists and co-ethnics in the West; the securitisation of the conflict over how to organise regional indigenous governance; and the eventual substitution of the reformists’ self-organised representation council with one created by regional authorities and indigenous activists opposed to the reformist network.

The Critical Movement Against the 2010–2012 Education Reform in Russia: Networks, Organisations and Parties

Abstract In 2010, Russian authorities presented a new draft law on education, which immediately became controversial. The essay examines whether user groups (parents) and low-ranking sector employees (teachers) were active in the movement critical of the reform, and how the state responded to the anti-reform movement. The movement consisted of several networks and organisations with no central node. It included teachers, parents and activists from both non-systemic groups and systemic opposition parties. Pressure from below by networks and organisations was combined with pressure from actors situated above in the political system, that is, in the Duma. Since the movement was welfare-oriented rather than fundamentally regime-critical, the Russian authorities tolerated open criticism both from civil society and inside the Duma. Some gains for teachers were won, but the movement’s proposed amendments and demands were generally rejected or only introduced in revised form.