Is Russia a Democratic State under Putin Research Proposal

Is Russia a Democratic State under Putin - Research Proposal Example In Russia however, since the end of the era of Stalin, which was clearly dictatorial and totalitarian, the succeeding governments through their rule have not demonstrated democracy in a clear manner. Putin has come under sharp criticism from the international fraternity regarding his governance approach in Russia. It thus becomes hard to tell whether or not Russia is a democratic state under Putin. Therefore, it is important to conduct a study in an attempt to address this uncertainty. This study will mainly focus on the situation of Russia under the leadership of Putin with regard to its adoption of democracy. Democracy is however a broad term thus will need to be broken down for effective analysis. In this regard therefore, it becomes important to adopt an analytical framework. In this case therefore, the analysis of level of democracy in Russia under Putin will be based on the 2004 UN General Assembly’s seven principles of democracy. The state of Russia will thus be analyse d based on its performance in (i) the separation and balance of power (ii) independence of the judiciary (iii) a pluralistic system of political parties and organizations (iv) the rule of law (v) accountability and transparency (vi) freedom of the media, and (vii) respect for political rights (Meyer-Resende 2011, 5). If the results show that the country performs well in all these seven areas, it will be indicative of its high level of democracy. On the other hand, if results show that the country performs poorly in these areas, it will indicate that the country is not democratic. The issue of democracy in Russia has been a major area of interest for many scholars of Political Science as well as different international organizations and the world at large. This is mainly because of the position of Russia and the contribution it makes to the world economy among other areas.