Russian Politics and Wiarda Theoretical Frameworks Sample Paper

Essay #1

The years following the collapse of Communism saw Russia take a new trajectory from 1991 under the leadership of Boris Yeltsin. The political scene in the early period of transition from Communism to Capitalism attracted enormous controversies with nothing being agreed upon by the ruling class. The Yeltsin rule seemed threatened from the very beginning prompting him to pass two key reforms essential to the transition period. First, the adoption of liberalization policies allowed the state to control the currency, centrally determine the prices, and foreign trade as aspects key to enabling the government to prevent inflation. The political support was, therefore, necessary in the implementation of the new measures. Second, stabilization approaches that counteract with liberalization through policies such as tight monetary control and fiscal policies. This allowed the government to privatize industrialization, giving rise to the Oligarchs era. The Oligarchs control enormous political power and influence, making it fundamental for Russian politics to have their support. 

At the onset of the new reforms, Russia did not possess the necessary institutional framework and infrastructure to determine the policies and guidelines for the new course. The transition of the state-controlled economy into a new system of market-oriented economy proved to be profoundly difficult. The adoption of the policies mentioned above, including liberalization, stabilization, and privatization, was key to successful changes. This led to the establishment of the State Duma – the legislative body and executive of the Federal government. The control of the state reserves, monetary policy, federal budget, state security, the rule of law, public order, crime control, social security among other key entities has been strengthened through crucial institutions under the Federal government. The changes are profound in line with gaining more control and stability of the state.  

The evolution of the institutions in Russia is critical to enable state control and manage the country effectively. The system of government in Russia presents a quasi-democracy that maintains a de facto autocracy. The leadership is legitimized by the conduct of elections that enable the rulers to maintain key state policies, goals, motives, and interests in check for the long-term survival of the state. The quasi-democracy principles are integral to the central power of the state to pursue the national interests amid the West and American increased influence in international affairs. Thus, the need for a de facto autocracy is crucial to the pursuit of national interests of the Russian Federation.

Essay #2

The Wiarda theoretical frameworks such as the dependency or world-systems theory and the rational choice frameworks are essential in the analysis of the dynamics of politics in the United States. The dependency or world-systems theory the role of the class and multinational corporations in their influence of the international markets. The expansion of capitalism politics advanced by the United States utilize the class and multinational corporations as integral agents to spread the principles of the free-market economy across the world. The dependency of the third world to the first world for development presents the dire impacts of adopting the policies in the respective functionalities. 

The third world depends on developed nations to grow and develop their own infrastructure. Such politics have been used by the Americans (till now) to advance their national interests for democracy, capitalism, and free-market principles through control of the international economy and trade. Thus, continue the cycle of exploitation of the third world by the first world. The dependency theory posits the relationship between the center of the periphery and the center of the center as vital to sustaining the dependency or world-system theory. That is the politics of new-colonialism that acts in an indirect manner limiting their capacity to develop new and independent ideologies. 

The rational framework over the years has been utilized as an approach to influence state decisions in pursuit of national (self) interests. The application of the theory posits the reality that self-interests guide the relationship of state actors in the international relations and internal politics. The self-interests constitute the national interests that act as the guiding principles to determine the relationship between countries. Each country pursues its politics with respect to national interests. The United States has been categorical over the years to advance national interests across the world. Thus, it operates in the sense of the need to protect its national interests across the world at all costs.

Bibliographies

Becker, Uwe, and Alexandra Vasileva. “Russia’s political economy re-conceptualized: A changing hybrid of liberalism, statism, and patrimonialism.” Journal of Eurasian Studies 8, no. 1 (2017): 83-96.

Cardoso, Fernando Henrique. “The consumption of dependency theory in the United States.” Latin American Research Review 12, no. 3 (1977): 7-24.

Evans, Alfred B. “The failure of democratization in Russia: A comparative perspective.” Journal of Eurasian Studies 2, no. 1 (2011): 40-51.

Hahn, Jeffrey W. “Continuity and Change in Russian political culture.” British Journal of Political Science 21, no. 4 (1991): 393-421.

Levin, Jonathan, and Paul Milgrom. “Introduction to choice theory.” Available from internet: http://web. Stanford. Edu/~ jdlevin/Econ 20202 (2004).

Palma, Gabriel. “Dependency: a formal theory of underdevelopment or a methodology for the analysis of concrete situations of underdevelopment?.” World Development 6, no. 7-8 (1978): 881-924.

Shevtsova, Lilia. “Post-communist Russia: a historic opportunity missed.” International Affairs 83, no. 5 (2007): 891-912.