Mimicking the Mad Printer: Legislating Illiberalism in Post-Soviet Eurasia

Problems of Post-Communism

33 Pages Posted: 29 Apr 2021 Last revised: 18 Aug 2021

See all articles by Julian G. Waller

Julian G. Waller

George Washington University - Department of Political Science

Date Written: August 17, 2021

Abstract

Illiberal policy innovation has grown in post-Soviet Eurasia over the 2010s, especially regarding controversial moral and cultural issues. These have often been developed by illiberal entrepreneur states and then taken up elsewhere. This article reviews the case of the Russian “homosexual propaganda” law, situating the particular domestic context for its legislative development and then turning to the partial diffusion of “copycat” versions debated in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Georgia. Although Russian illiberal innovation can be understood through domestic drivers of policy development, attempts to pass illiberal laws elsewhere are better explained by the interaction of domestic political incentives and international factors.

Keywords: Russia, Post-Soviet, Illiberalism, Conservatism, Diffusion

Suggested Citation

Waller, Julian G., Mimicking the Mad Printer: Legislating Illiberalism in Post-Soviet Eurasia (August 17, 2021). Problems of Post-Communism, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3836226 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3836226

Julian G. Waller (Contact Author)

George Washington University - Department of Political Science ( email )

Washington, DC 20052
United States

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