ABOUT BOOK

Studies the transformation of Russian domestic politics and foreign policy under Vladimir Putin~Asks what kind of political system ‘Putinism’ denotes~Engages with the scholarly and policy debate on the growth of illiberal politics and authoritarianism globally in the post-Soviet space and in countries as diverse as Hungary, Egypt, Turkey and the Philippines~Uses contemporary case studies – including Russia’s legal system, the annexation of Crimea and Russian policy in Syria – to critically examine Russia’s political ideology~Why did Russia’s post-Soviet political system developed into a new form of authoritarianism? And how did its foreign policy came to pose such a profound challenge to the West? David G. Lewis goes beyond current polemical debates to address these questions.~Lewis investigates the Russian understanding of key concepts such as sovereignty, democracy and political community. He analyses the Russian political system as a novel form of authoritarian political order, unpacking the ideological paradigm that underpins it. He reveals that Russia's new order is characterised by the consolidation of political and economic power around a sovereign leader, together with a willingness to take political decisions outside the law both at home and in international affairs.