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From Patronal First Secretary to Patronal President: Post-Soviet Political Regimes in Context

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Semi-Presidentialism in the Caucasus and Central Asia

Abstract

Baturo provides an overview of similarities between the political regimes that emerged in post-Soviet Eurasia. After independence, “patronal” first secretaries became “patronal” presidents of their own nation-states. Despite differences in formal institutions and democratic trajectories, political elites across the region often reverted to similar methods to maintain themselves in office. Over the 1991–2014 period, political regimes were generally more open and competitive in Armenia, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan and more repressive in the rest of Central Asia and in Azerbaijan. Baturo shows how a history of statehood, opposition strength, resources available to ruling elites, and alongside rulers’ own preferences contributed to varieties of regime trajectories in the region.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    While this volume does not consider the fully presidential regimes of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan, I however include these three in the discussion and also make references to remaining post-Soviet states whenever appropriate.

  2. 2.

    Makhamov of Tajikistan, first secretary since 1985 and president since 1990, was replaced by his predecessor in the party office, Nabiev, following the August 1991 coup, however.

  3. 3.

    See Novaya Gazeta, 31 October 2014, “U Soseda Slishkom Gromko Oret Televizor,” available at http://www.novayagazeta.ru/politics/65906.html, accessed 2 November 2014.

  4. 4.

    See Noev Kovcheg, 16 October 2013, “Suren Aryutyunyan: Dlya Menya Armeniya i Rossiya – Edonoe Tseloe,” available at http://noev-kovcheg.ru/mag/2013-19/4123.html. Also see Akaev’s academic profile at http://socmodel.com/Avtory/AkaevAA, both accessed 12 September 2014.

  5. 5.

    Quoted in Rossiyskaya Gazeta, 25 March 2005, “SNG Dolzhno Ostat’sya dlya tsivilizovannogo razvoda,” available at http://www.rg.ru/2005/03/25/sng-anons.html, accessed 21 August 2014.

  6. 6.

    See Robert Kocharyan: “I Don’t Rule Out My Return to Big Politics,” available at http://www.mediamax.am/en/news/politics/2664/, accessed 21 August 2014.

  7. 7.

    The full text of the Address of the President of Russian Federation is available from http://kremlin.ru/news/20603. For Nazarbaev reservations about the union, see the full transcript of the meeting, 24 December 2013, http://news.kremlin.ru/transcripts/19913.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dublin, Ireland

    Alexander Baturo

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  1. Alexander Baturo
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Law and Government, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland

    Robert Elgie

  2. Central and West Africa, National Democratic Institute, Arlington, Virginia, USA

    Sophia Moestrup

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© 2016 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s)

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Baturo, A. (2016). From Patronal First Secretary to Patronal President: Post-Soviet Political Regimes in Context. In: Elgie, R., Moestrup, S. (eds) Semi-Presidentialism in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-38781-3_2

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