Supplying Legitimacy : Vladimir Putin's Legitimation Strategies (2018-2024)

Sammanfattning

Despite considerable repercussions following the war with Ukraine, the domestic popularity of President Vladimir Putin has remained high, and the Russian regime has remained relatively stable. Additionally, the autocratic trajectory of Russia, marked by power centralization and restrictions on democratic rights, has increased qualitatively in connection with the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. While increased repression might in part contribute to regime stability, this trend does not explain Putin’s apparent popularity. Instead, legitimacy in autocratic contexts, and the strategies used to secure it, has been identified as vital for the stability of non-democracies. This study examines legitimation strategies used by Putin to highlight possible factors contributing to his continuous rule, and by extension the stability of an increasingly autocratic Russia. Alongside the consolidation of power and democratic backsliding the Russian regime has increasingly relied on anti-Western and illiberal rhetoric, including in its justification for invading Ukraine in 2022. A framing analysis of Putin’s addresses to the Federal Assembly from 2018 to 2024 is used in this study to identify the president’s legitimation strategies, while the anti-Western and illiberal turn in Russian politics is regarded as an important contextual factor. The study finds that multiple sources of legitimacy are invoked in Putin’s legitimation strategies, with the portrayal of the country as threatened by external forces increasing over time, particularly since 2022.