Post-Soviet Politics of Patronage and Identity

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

Through empirical case studies of Georgia, Russia, and Ukraine, this panel examines the role of political patronage and political identities across the former Soviet Union. While patron-client networks were a hallmark of Soviet governance, their persistence and transformation in the post-Soviet era have had profound implications for regime stability and identity formation. The panel will explore how patronage networks influence elite cohesion and policymaking. It will also engage with the intersection of identity and conflict. In the Republic of Georgia, patron-client network integration into the legislative branch is analyzed from the perspective of policy and budget-making to understand the material effects of these informal institutions. In the Russian Federation, the subnational effects of war in a “power vertical” system are analyzed to assess the relationship of rhetorical emulation by governors of Putin and mobilization of volunteer battalions. In Ukraine, the full-scale invasion in February 2022 is analyzed in two papers from the perspective, first, of regional memorialization beyond national identity and, second, the war's effect on ethnic and national origin stories and identity convergence. The papers on this panel seek to contribute to broader debates on governance, resilience of post-Soviet political orders, and identity in times of conflict as panelists engage with comparative and theoretical perspectives to deepen our understanding of these enduring dynamics.

Sub Unit

• Politics/Law

Chair

• Zaur Kapanadze, Texas Tech U

Papers

• Emulating the Autocrat: Gubernatorial Addresses and the Supply of Volunteer Battalions - Kathleen Gergely, Indiana U Bloomington

• Patronage, Oligarchic Interests, and Budget Policy in the Georgian Parliament - Zaur Kapanadze, Texas Tech U

• Navigating Myths of Origin and Territorial Legitimacy: Evidence from Ukraine - Scott Feinstein, Iowa State U

• Remembering the Present: Regional Memorialization in Ukraine - Katerina Sviderska, U of Cambridge (UK)

Discussant

• Kyle Estes, Bradley U