Towards the Self-Determination of Russian Society: in Search of a Coordinate System

Abstract

Citation: Kirdina-Chandler S. (2019) Towards the Self-Determination of Russian Society: in Search of a Coordinate System. Mir Rossii, vol. 28, no 2, pp. 6–24 (in Russian). DOI: 10.17323/1811-038X-2019-28-2-6-24

Russian society is in search of self-determination. This requires the articulation of strategic goals and basic guidelines for domestic and foreign policy, on which there is a consensus both among the elites and the population – such a consensus is present in modern Russia. However, and most importantly, self-determination requires the choice and acceptance of an effective system of resource mobilization and management, in order to ensure sustainable development – in that sense there is little agreement currently present in Russian society. This article critically reviews the modern theoretical concepts used for the analysis of Russian society, and their instrumental capacity to serve as “coordinate systems” for societal self-determination. The concepts and approaches considered include the cultural East-West dichotomy and Eurasianism; the civilizational approach; the theories of modernization and globalization; institutional theories (“open/limited access orders” and “inclusive/extractive” institutions); and the theory of institutional X- and Y-matrices. The author discusses the advantages and limitations of these approaches and substantiates the argument that the theory of X- and Y-institutional matrices may hold greater promise as a “coordinate system” for the self-determination of Russian society. It is a meso-level theory, which identifies economic, political and ideological institutions and ways of including resources in economic and social activity. It allows the determination of the contours of an appropriate system of organization and the mobilization of available resources given the set of specific external and internal challenges. The theory is ideologically neutral and has a pragmatic focus. It can also be used to develop appropriate metrics for the evaluation of Russian institutional reforms and their outcomes.