普京与车臣问题

从某种意义上说,普京的总统生涯是与车臣问题紧密地联系在一起的。第二次车臣战争对普京来说是一个极其重大的政治考验,而这次战争的胜利也给普京带来了极大的政治资本。现在,车臣问题又出现了新的情况,一系列恐怖事件对普京的继续执政又提出了挑战,因此,车臣问题成为影响普京连任总统的一个重要因素。     

俄罗斯普京式政治体制改革

普京自2004年3月连任以来,为进一步强化总统权威,构筑具有俄式特点的政治体制,维护国家统一与安全,促进经济快速发展,依靠较高的民意支持率和连任后较大的施政自主性,大刀阔斧地推进政治体制改革,效果显著.但是,由于改革刚刚起步,且尚有许多不完善之处,在实施过程中仍会遇到一些问题和阻力,俄要建立真正高效、顺畅的国家权力体系任重而道远.     

普京的「主权民主」

前几年,国内外学者往往把俄罗斯的政治体制称为"可控民主".但是,现在俄罗斯已经开始流行"主权民主"的新概念.普京总统在2005年<国情咨文>中提出,俄国作为一个主权国家,根据本国历史、地缘政治、国情和法律自主地确定民主的道路.普京的这一提法被俄国舆论界解读为"主权民主".在2006年<国情咨文>中,普京也强调捍卫国家主权的必要性."主权民主"体现了普京治国方略在新的历史条件下的新变化.     

A Study of Vladimir Putin’s Rhetoric

Abstract

This article analyses the political rhetoric of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Scholars and journalists have devoted considerable space to discussing Putin's policies, but have paid little attention to his political speeches, often assuming that he is purely a pragmatist and that his rhetoric is therefore of little interest. This article argues that a comprehensive analysis of rhetoric helps to reveal Putin's political and ideological orientation. To do so, the article carries out a systematic examination of Putin's political speeches and interviews, and shows that Putin has demonstrated an overall consistency in the general line of his views, albeit with certain changes within that line. Therefore his rhetoric is more than an instrument to confuse political opponents and should be taken seriously as an indication of Putin's policy direction.     

Discourse and strategic continuity from Gorbachev through Putin

Discourse analysis reveals that Mikhail Gorbachev as General Secretary and his successors as Russian presidents have practiced a shared strategy of metaphorical – not spatial – centrism that has gradually slid the state from dictatorship toward democracy. Preservation of a political center for himself and his successors to occupy made it necessary for Boris Yeltsin to dismantle the USSR if elections in Russia were to continue. At the same time, for each successive exponent of this centrist strategy, an attempt to practice democracy without the repellent flaws of electoral fraud and political repression would forgo the strategic advantage of occupying the political center.     

Don't Disarm Secularism

In this age of confrontation, the secular Turkish model has been seen as a bridge between Islam and the West as well as the link between Europe and Asia. Now that model faces the most severe test in its history. How the current crisis is settled will frame future relations between Islam and the West no less than the events of 9/11.     

Subsoil Law Reform in Russia under the Putin Administration

This article examines the political economy of subsoil law reform under the Putin administration. Despite repeated promises of imminent reform, the overhaul of the main legal basis governing some of the most important sectors of the Russian economy was subjected to repeated delays during the eight years of Putin's presidency. This article shows that the interaction of three major influences—the Kremlin's shifting policy priorities in its relations with subsoil management; the activities of the relevant state bureaucratic institutions; and the interests of the state-controlled mineral extracting companies—added to the complexity and delay.