Manipulating neoliberal rhetoric: Clientelism in the run-up to international summits in Russia

Abstract

Many accounts of mega-events emphasize their ability to facilitate the accumulation of capital and place them in the framework of urban entrepreneurialism. This paper examines the ways mega-events—with the help of capitalist boosterism rhetoric—become intertwined in regional and urban policies. Using the run-ups to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa summits as case studies (Ekaterinburg in 2009 and Ufa in 2015), I investigate local citizens’ and stakeholders’ perceptions of federal and local governmental action surrounding mega-events in Russia. Drawing on the theoretical notion of clientelism, I argue that the hidden rationality in the preparation for mega-events consists of their use by local stakeholders (1) as a legitimizing tool for raising their political and economic capital and (2) as a convenient pretext to directly and indirectly elicit benefits and amplify existing practices of rent seeking. Planners evoke neoliberal rhetorics of growth and profit-oriented investments to justify the “conversations” that various ranks of elite have among themselves. The run-up to a summit is part of a strategy by regional and municipal leaders to win the President’s favour by engaging in prestigious international events.