俄罗斯政治体系【英文】

Yeltsin campaign in 1996
• Public opinion polls
– 24% supported Zyuganov – 8% supported Yeltsin
Economic reforms
• Macro-economic stabilization
– structural adjustment
Reformist parties
• liberal democracy
– dismantle political framework of socialism – guarantee individual freedom – rul
– open and free market – property rights
• centrist parties
– “parties of power”
• communist parties
– Communist Party of the Russian Federation
• nationalist parties
– Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
• • • • cut state spending increase taxation end price controls open trade
– “shock therapy”
• all “shock” but no “therapy”
• Privatization
Centrist parties: a paradox
• CPRF
– rather stable electoral share – but unlikely to win parliamentary majority or presidency
• CPRF leader Zyuganov
– 1996 and 2000 presidential elections
• Union of Right Forces and Yabloko
Communist Party of the R.F.
Communist Party of the R.F.
• Major successor party to the CPSU
– oppose radical market reforms – oppose privatization programs – oppose Western influence
Russian political parties
• generally form around a prominent individual • are generally associated with prominent political figures
– increased political fragmentation
Transformation of party system
• Communist Party of Soviet Union used to dominate state and social institutions
– no competition for political office – no mechanism to ensure accountability – party authority couldn’t be openly questioned
• most party-like of all parties
– substantial organizational base – well-defined electoral following – large (but old) membership (~ 500,000)
Communist Party of the R.F.
• Surveys indicate that voters would favor policies and values at the political center
– e.g. social democratic party
• but no one has succeeded in creating a major, lasting centrist party
• do not have a firm social base or stable constituency • a major cleavage: economic policy
4 main categories of parties
• reformist parties
– democracy and market
• confusing array of political organizations have run candidates in elections since ’93
New political parties
• government efforts at tightening the conditions for party formation and registration
Politics in Russia
Political Parties and Elections
Important political change
• Democratization of political system
– introduction of competitive elections – shift from a single-party system to a multiparty system
– effect on small parties – effect on party coalitions
• suppress democratic representation? • bring order to a chaotic and fragmented party structure?