Oleksandr Fisun

The project aims to offer a fresh interpretation of political development in the post-Soviet region. I intend to explore the decisive role of informal politics, which has remained an under-researched topic for a long time, and investigate how neopatrimonial systems, in some cases, unexpectedly stimulate competitive politics. The project draws on insights from comparative democratization studies, neo-Weberian historical sociology, and political anthropology. I plan to bring together key approaches to studying post-Soviet regime change (patronal presidentialism, neopatrimonialism, hybrid regimes, and competitive authoritarianism) and propose an alternative framework based on the theory of informal institutions and power networks. This project addresses a significant gap in the current literature on democratization and may offer valuable insights into ongoing debates on critical global issues such as the future of democracy, the quality of democratic regimes, varieties of democracy, democratic governability, and republicanism.

Website: https://philosophy.karazin.ua/en/kafedra/staff_pol/fisun_A.html