Konsolideringens dubbla ansikten : En teoribaserad studie av ryska demokratin

The purpose of this study is to identify the core of the problem of why the democratization in Russia didn’t achieve a full consolidation after the Soviet Union fell as well as why the country returned to an authoritarian regime. This is a theory based study, where the two theories are tested against the case of Russia in 1991-2004. This, in order to find a common factor in response to the questions. The chosen time perspective is based on Gorbachev's resignation until Putin's first term of office. The theories used are Linz and Stepan's five arenas for a successful consolidation of democracy and Huntington's theory of authoritarian nostalgia. Since the theories will be tested and found support in different texts, the method used is a qualitative text analysis, more specifically a content analysis. The result indicates that the lack of economic stability is a major issue that plays a central role. Unless this criteria is met, there will be no successful consolidation in the country and a backlash to the authoritarian regime will happen. In conclusion, the study also shows common factors in both theories that are of an explanatory element to the study's existing problem.