Teaching Comparative

Head of state; head of government

What rules do you follow if the situation is ambiguous? What does this tell us about the Russian government? about the Russian regime? Have the Russian leaders eliminated the differences between state and government? Why do political scientists make that distinction?

West Baffled by 2 Heads for Russian Government

"When Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, rushed to Moscow earlier this month to mediate the crisis over Georgia, he found the new Russian president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, to be calm, even sanguine about prospects for a solution.

"But the tone was wildly different when Mr. Sarkozy heard from Vladimir V. Putin... Mr. Putin was virulent in denouncing Georgian actions as atrocities, and he expressed such deep antipathy toward Georgian leaders that it made the war seem personal.

"Mr. Sarkozy’s report... has added to a sense of bewilderment in Washington about how to deal with what is now a two-headed government in Moscow — with Mr. Putin, still the dominant partner, occupying what is technically the subservient role.

"American and European officials say there is no doubt that it is Mr. Putin who maintains the real power, making the decisions on how to prosecute and conclude the conflict. But they have felt compelled to follow diplomatic protocol that requires them to focus their negotiating efforts on Mr. Medvedev, who succeeded Mr. Putin in May to become the head of state...

"Ever since Mr. Medvedev was inaugurated May 7, after an election in which all significant opposition candidates were either kept off the ballot or limited in campaigning, the United States and other nations have deferred to him as the head of state. They did so even as it was clear that Mr. Putin would remain a significant political force — if not the de facto leader — in his role as prime minister.

"But the war with Georgia has made that pretense far more difficult to sustain..."

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Labels: Russia concepts

posted by Ken Wedding @ 6:07 AM