Friday November 30, 2018
12:30-1:30 p.m.
Dampeer Room
Kelvin Smith Library*
Case Western Reserve University
Dear Colleagues:
Forbes magazine and CNN’s Fareed Zakaria call him “the most powerful man in the world.” David Brooks merely calls him “the most influential.”
At home, Vladimir Putin has suppressed opponents and won huge margins in elections. The fact that he has been viewed as in charge whether serving as President or Prime Minister shows that his power base goes well beyond formal means. His average approval in public opinion polls – 76% from 2000 to 2017 – suggests at a minimum that opposition is not commonly voiced.
Abroad, Putin’s Russia has expanded its influence through military and other means, from Syria to U.S. elections to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, which could increase Russia’s export earnings and make Europe more dependent on its resources.
Yet regimes do not last forever. So what are the sources, and limits, of Putin’s power?
A non-expert can guess at weak spots. High fossil fuel prices helped finance the deal – security for support – between Putin and much of his country. Lower prices now threaten that security, and legislation to raise the eligibility age for state pensions has made Putin less popular. An aggressive foreign policy can provide support from nationalist pride, but risks wounded pride from setbacks. Putin’s regime, like all others, depends on support from security forces.
Yet regimes can only fall if pushed – and in Russia, who could do that?
Join us as Oberlin’s Steve Crowley, a leading scholar of the politics and economics of Russia and Eastern Europe, joins us to share his observations on Russia’s present and future.
All best regards,
Joe White
Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and Director, Center for Policy Studies
About Our Guest
Stephen Crowley, professor and chair of the Department of Politics, received a BA from Hamilton College and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. His teaching focuses on Russia and Eastern Europe, peace and conflict studies, revolutions, and globalization.
Crowley is a scholar of the politics of Russia and Eastern Europe, with a focus on labor politics and the political economy of postcommunist transformations. A recurrent research question has been how postcommunist unions face the challenges from past institutional and ideological legacies, current political context, and the constraints placed by the global economy.
He is currently completing a book manuscript, tentatively titled “Stability amid Stagnation: The Politics of Labor and Deindustrialization in Putin’s Russia.” The book examines the specter of labor and social unrest that looms behind Russia’s leaders as they contemplate how to rejuvenate Russia’s struggling economy. It explores the legacy of Russia’s many “monotowns” or one-factory cities and towns left from the Soviet era. These factories are often near bankruptcy, and thus present particular dilemmas of potential labor protest that are difficult to resolve, especially since workers have few effective legal channels for expressing discontent under President Putin.
Where We Meet
The Friday Public Affairs Lunch convenes each Friday when classes are in session, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Our programs are open to all and no registration is required. We usually meet in the Dampeer Room of Kelvin Smith Library.
* Kelvin Smith Library requires all entrants to show identification when entering the building, unless they have a university i.d. that they can magnetically scan. We are sorry if that seems like a hassle, but it has been Library policy for a while in response to security concerns. Please do not complain to the library staff at the entrance, who are just doing their jobs.
Parking Possibilities
The most convenient parking is the lot underneath Severance Hall. We regret that it is not free. From that lot there is an elevator up to street level (labeled as for the Thwing Center); it is less than 50 yards from that exit to the library entrance. You can get from the Severance garage to the library without going outside. Near the entry gates – just to the right if you were driving out – there is a door into a corridor. Walk down the corridor and there will be another door. Beyond that door you’ll find the entrance to an elevator which goes up to an entrance right inside the doors to Kelvin Smith Library.
Schedule of Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers:
December 7: Union Decline in a Populist Era: The Experience of Western Democracies. With Chris Howell, James Monroe Professor of Politics, Oberlin College. |
