Elections – What For? | Figure for Article 4

Russia’s Vestiges of Democracy

Results of the elections of 17 March 2024

*Source:* Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Presidential Election

Unsurprisingly, Vladimir Putin (United Russia: nationalist, authoritarian, conservative and populist right) was declared re-elected in the first round with 88.5% of the vote against three other candidates, including Nikolai Kharitonov (Communist Party: nationalist, conservative, Leninist; 4.4%).

Note: The election, which was scheduled at a time when the Russo-Ukrainian war was still going, was also held in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. The Constitution prohibited the President from running for a third consecutive term, but the government had it amended, allowing Vladimir Putin to stand again. “Almost all major opponents, such as anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny, have been thrown into prison or forced into exile.” Russia is classified as an “authoritarian regime” on the democracy index, and Freedom House considers that the government effectively controls the judiciary, the media and parliament, “manipulates elections and suppresses any real opposition”.

Source: Wikipedia

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While the 20th century has been characterised by the generalisation of democratisation processes, the 21st century seems to have started with the reverse trend. An authoritarian-populist nexus is threatening liberal democracy on a global scale, including in its American and European heartlands. Charismatic leaders – thriving on electoral majorities and popular referenda – methodically undermine the rule of law and constitutional safeguards in order to consolidate their own power basis. Coupling inflammatory rhetoric with modern communication technologies, they short-circuit traditional elites and refuse to abide by international norms. Agitating contemporary scourges such as insecurity, loss of identity, mass migration and corrupt elites, they put in place new laws and mechanisms to harness civil society and political opponents. In order to better understand the novelty, permanence and global reach of “illiberal democracy”, this second issue of Global Challenges proposes seven case studies (Russia, Hungary, Turkey, the Middle East, Uganda, Venezuela and the United States) complemented by a series of expert interviews, maps and infographics.

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Issue no. 15 | May 2024

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Special Issue no. 2 | March 2023

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The essays in this volume are the product of a new ‘research practicum‘ course in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the Graduate Institute in Geneva. They build on the debates on ‘Urban Morphology and violence’ to reflect on the associations between cities – their political orders and disorders – and outcomes ranging from occupation and resistance to marginalisation and containment. These texts foreshadow the possibility of centring – and challenging – the urban in our understanding of contemporary conflict, violence and peace. They are a first step in opening up a research agenda for a more textured analysis of spatial, geographical and temporal dynamics within the city in relation to violence, and, therefore, the mobilisation of spatial, temporal and visual modes of analysis. The promise is to make visible the varied roles of urban morphologies – adding to the debate on cities in and as sites of conflict.

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Russia’s Vestiges of Democracy

Results of the elections of 17 March 2024

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