Legitimacy, Resilience, and Political Education in Russia and China

Abstract

How do authoritarian regimes attempt to build loyalty among a globally minded youth? In what ways do they educate students to be supportive of those in power, and how do strategies of legitimation change over time? This chapter examines political and patriotic education in contemporary Russia and China, including government-recommended textbooks from Russian high schools and the politics subject test of the Chinese National College Entrance Examination (NCEE). Political education materials provide a window into what these regimes view as the most politically important, what they want to transmit to young people, and insight into authoritarian strategies of legitimation. Several conclusions can be drawn from this analysis. One is that both the Russian and the Chinese regimes socialize around similar pillars of legitimacy, including ideology, institutions, and law. However, the Chinese regime seeks to foster support by highlighting economic and cultural achievements, whereas the Russian textbooks are both supportive and subversive in their discussions of democracy.