Heterarchy in Russia

Abstract

The powerlessness of the powerful is an enduring feature of Russian governance. The authorities reinforce hierarchy to contain the centrifugal pressures of heterarchy. This works at three levels: the macro, where four major ideological-interest factions compete for hegemony; the meso, where corporate, regional, and institutional actors and social organizations contend for dominance; and the micro, where personalities and networks in the corridors of power strive for influence. President Vladimir Putin drew on all three levels and factions within them, but allowed none to predominate, thus ensuring that all had a stake in the system and his leadership while ensuring his autonomy. This complex system of non-constitutional (heterarchic) checks and balances reflected not genuine political pluralism but a mechanical form of stability politics. It provided elements of social peace but also generated statis and ultimately paralysis. The balance was disrupted in Putin’s fourth presidential term starting in 2018, with the predominance of the security bloc and, most recently, the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The more consolidated hierarchy suppressed, rather than resolved, the problem of managing heterarchy.