The Virtuous Circles of Western Exposure in Russian Regions: A Case for Micro-Polity Analysis of Democratic Change

Abstract

Exposure to democratic values has been regarded as a significant factor in the diffusion of democracy, and has also been linked through conditionality to assistance from Western agencies. Diffusion and the targeting of such assistance in a country of the size of Russia is likely to be uneven, however, implying uneven effects, as public authorities, private businesses and the broader citizenry are exposed to varying levels of influence according to the level of diffusion and assistance applied in particular regions. Statistical analysis shows regional exposure levels to be higher in regions that lie in closer proximity to the West, even when urbanization, gross regional product and other domestic variables are held constant. This further implies that methodological approaches to democratization based on assessing the ‘whole nation’ miss the significance of geographical factors in post-communist political change, which will need to be addressed in future analyses.