Assistant Professor of Government Sharon Werning Rivera presented a paper titled "The Militarization of the Russian Elite under Putin: How Deep and What Impact?" at the 63rd Annual Conference of the New York State Political Science Association, held in New York City, April 24-25.
The paper, co-authored with Government lecturer David W. Rivera, analyzes the dominant framework for understanding contemporary Russia—what the authors term "the militocracy paradigm." This paradigm holds that as president, former KGB lieutenant-colonel Putin transformed Russia into a state in which legions of fellow siloviki—individuals who spent their careers in Russia's various force structures—occupy many important positions throughout the polity and economy.
The paper analyzes the validity of the paradigm from a variety of perspectives, including the use of an original database consisting of more than 2000 Russian elites that was compiled with assistance from a Class of 1966 Career Development Award, a Faculty Grant Development Award, the Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center at Hamilton College.
The paper, co-authored with Government lecturer David W. Rivera, analyzes the dominant framework for understanding contemporary Russia—what the authors term "the militocracy paradigm." This paradigm holds that as president, former KGB lieutenant-colonel Putin transformed Russia into a state in which legions of fellow siloviki—individuals who spent their careers in Russia's various force structures—occupy many important positions throughout the polity and economy.
The paper analyzes the validity of the paradigm from a variety of perspectives, including the use of an original database consisting of more than 2000 Russian elites that was compiled with assistance from a Class of 1966 Career Development Award, a Faculty Grant Development Award, the Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center at Hamilton College.
