Mexico fact sheet

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Below is some key information you should know about each countries you studied in Comparative Politics.  Use this chart to test yourself and see what you need to review

____MEXICO_ REVIEW SHEET

Federal/Unitary	Number of subunits ·         It is a federal republic like its North American neighbors, with 31 states dividing the varied geography, plus one Federal District. ·         Like U.S. states and Canadian provinces, much of the everyday law is left to the Mexican states' jurisdiction.	Description of arrangement (for example, devolution, etc) ·         The constitution establishes three levels of government: the federal Union, the state governments and the municipal governments. ·         System is classified as political centralism, meaning that there is a concentration of decision making power at the federal level, although there are elections for local officials.  ·         The National Solidarity Program (PROSNAL) was established to share revenue among the states, which shifted decision making authority over public education and health care to the states.
Presidential, Parliamentary, or Mixed?	Name of Head of State (for example, President) •          Head of state: Felipe Calderon.	Name of Head of Government Same as left
Head of State/Head of Government	Powers of head of state, length of term ·         Term is six years ·         Head of state and other officials are elected as representatives of the people and must govern according to existing laws. ·         With the democratic reforms of recent years and fairer elections, the president's powers have been limited: o        The right to appoint the Attorney General o        The right to appoint the Attorney General and the Chief of Police of the Federal District o        The right to appoint the secretaries of state and all the members of the Mexican executive cabinet o        Powers of office are derived from the Revolutionary Constitution of 1917. o        The right to appoint all Mexican Ambassadors o        Supreme power over the army, navy, and air force o        The power to declare war and peace (with prior congressional authorization) o        The power of negotiating foreign treaties o        The power to issue decrees o        The right to nominate Supreme Court justices o        The power to veto laws o        The right to introduce bills in Congress for their consideration. ·         There is also a clear tradition of handpicking his successor to president (ending with Vicente Fox in 2000)
	Election of head of state, length of term ·         Presidents are elected for 6 year terms; who ever receives the most votes wins, always is a non- incumbent election	Election of head of government
Name of Legislative Branch (Identify both houses if applicable)	Number of seats in legislative branch, length of term, describe power of legislative branch (rubber stamp, powerful) The powers of the congress include the right to pass laws, impose taxes, declare war, approve the national budget, approve or reject treaties and conventions made with foreign countries, and ratify diplomatic appointments. The Senate addresses all matters concerning foreign policy, approves international agreements, and confirms presidential appointments. The Chamber of Deputies, much like the United States House of Representatives, addresses all matters pertaining to the government's budget and public expenditures. As in the United States, in cases of impeachment, the Chamber of Deputies has the power to prosecute, and the Senate acts as the jury. There is no reelection, therefore, there is massive turnover with each election cycle and no experience for the members of the legislature to draw on.	Describe elections of legislative branch ·         Chamber of Deputies are elected for elected for a three year term, 300 of whom are elected in single-seat constituencies by plurality, with the remaining 200 members elected by proportional representation in 5 multi-state, 40-seat constituencies. ·         The Chamber of Senators has 128 members, elected for a six-year term, 96 of them in three-seat constituencies (corresponding to the nation's 31 states and one Federal District) and 32 by proportional representation on a nationwide basis. In the state constituencies, two seats are awarded to the plurality winner and one to the first runner-up.
Name of Judicial Branch	How are judges selected? Judges are selected by the president with senate approval and serve life term.	Describe type of power Supreme Court of Justice Constitutionally independent, has the authority to strike down laws rendered unconstitutional Competitive examination for selecting most lower and appellate judges and law secretaries Judicial review
Bureaucracy/Cabinet	Describe bureaucracy	Describe cabinet The Cabinet of Mexico is a part of the executive branch of the Mexican government. It consists of eighteen Secretaries of State, the head of the federal executive legal office and the Attorney General. In addition to the legal Executive Cabinet there are other Cabinet-level administration offices that report directly to the President of the Republic. Officials from the legal and extended Cabinet are subordinate to the President.
Political Recruitment/Participation	How are elites recruited? ·         Has been recruited predominantly from the middle class. ·         1910 revolution did not open up the political elite to large numbers of people from peasant or urban laborer backgrounds. ·         Openings occurred in the 1930s during the Cardenas administration, and then mainly at the local and state levels rather than the national level elite.  ·         Sexenios- national political elite- recently has become more homogeneous in many ways.  ·         Drawn increasingly from the ranks of capitalinos- people born or raised in Mexico City.  • Becoming more closed and inbred. • Shows considerable fluidity, the massive turnover of officeholders every six years is proof of that.	What are various forms of participation?
Other important institutions (complete only if applicable to the country)	The Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary is a venue within the judiciary of Mexico that specializes in electoral matters. o        Among its functions are resolving disputes arising within federal elections and certifying the validity of those elections, including those of the President of the Republic. (Responsibility for declaring a candidate the winner in presidential elections previously fell on the Chamber of Deputies.) o        It comprises a permanent seven-member Superior Chamber, located in the Federal District, and five Regional Chambers, one in each of the circumscriptions into which the country is divided for purposes of organising congressional elections.
Media	Describe type of “feedback” citizens receive Mexico is the main “media power center” of Spanish speaking Latin America  Freedom of Press- established in Constitution 1917 Restricts the press on matters of personal privacy, morality, and public health Tolerance varies according to the sensitivities of the president in office- on sensitive issues, there is minimal coverage. Receives more improved feedback then past years with the coming of 2 more major parties to compete against the former dominant one of PRI and more freedoms are being handed back to the country from the PRI’s reign.
Legitimacy	Identify sources of legitimacy Mexico’s government is much like the U.S. on paper but decision making is highly centralized. The state religion is Roman Catholic.   Mexico’s system is limited pluralism, low popular mobilization, law making is left to state jurisdictions Crime is a problem in Mexico. Police corruption is another problem in Mexico. Public polls are not taken seriously due to the fact that the crime rate is so high people don't feel the need to give there opinion until the crime problem is fixed in Mexico.
Features of the Constitution	When was it written? Provide a description of the history behind its writing: ·         The Constitution of 1917, proclaimed on February 5, 1917, is considered by many to be one of the most radical and comprehensive constitutions in modern political history. ·         Although its social content gave it the title of the first modern socialist constitution--it preceded the constitution of the former Soviet Union--the Mexican document replicates many liberal principles and concepts of the constitution of the United States.	Identify 3 unique features ·         On paper, their political system is a democracy.  It is a presidential system with 3 autonomous branches of government.  The president, however, is very powerful. ·         Legislative: makes federal law, declares war, imposes taxes, approves the national budget and international treaties, and ratifies diplomatic appointments. ·         Executive: President executes and enforces laws ·         Judiciary: interpret laws and judge cases of federal competency o        The liberal concepts include federalism, separation of powers, and a bill of rights 1.        The Constitution is divided into two major parts, the Individual Guarantees and the definition of the structure of the government. o        One notable feature of the Guarantees is that the freedoms enumerated therein are reserved "by any individual," regardless of citizenship or status. 2.        The Mexican government is explicitly divided into the same three branches as the United States, legislative, executive, and judicial. 3.        The President is extremely power as he/she has few restraints on his power and completely dominates the legislative and judicial branches.
Historical Evolution of Political Traditions	Identify at least 3 key events and briefly explain how the events shaped current government (revolutions for example) ·         Mexican politics has been dominated by wealthy landowners who own large estates (haciendas) ·         The Mexican economy has experienced negative and positive swings.  Negative turns have been partially due to a devaluation of the Peso, dependency on oil, and debt to Western creditors.  More recently, however, Mexico’s economy has improved, which is likely due to its ability to renegotiate its debt with the U.S. and its participation in NAFTA.
Key Political Leaders and their Policies	Identify and describe at least 3 key political leaders and their policies: Cardenas (1930-1940) ·         Peasants and urban workers succeeded in pressing claims for higher wages.  ·         Redistributed large amounts of land, and gave land to small farmers called “ejidos.” ·         Reshaped Mexican presidency, establishing a six-year term with no possibility of reelection, removing the military from political control, and establishing government-sponsored peasant and labor organizations. ·         His system proved remarkably durable and led to a pattern of PRI-dominated politics.  Carlos Salinas (1988-1993) ·         Mexico had been experiencing economic problems, and Salinas opened the Mexican economy to foreign trade and privatized nationalized industry in an attempt to modernize.  ·         This privatization causes a wider gap between the rich and the poor and, eventually, there was a revolt in Chiapas (Mexico’s most underdeveloped state). ·         Shortly after the revolt, Salinas’ handpicked successor was assassinated so he chose Ernest Zedillo. Ernesto Zedillo (1994-2000) ·         His political motto was Bienestar para tu familia. His most lasting act of government was the creation of Progresa, a poverty-fighting program based on subsidizing the poorest families provided their children go to school, later renamed Oportunidades by president Vicente Fox ·         In 2000 Zedillo recognized the electoral victory of opposition candidate Vicente Fox before midnight on election day, paving the way for what seemed an unlikely change of power. For this reason some PRI members consider him a traitor, despite an 11 points advantage for PAN, claiming that the election was too close to admit defeat so soon and that, in any event, the concession should have come from the PRI's candidate, Francisco Labastida, and not Zedillo.
Ethnic Cleavages	Identify the major ethnic cleavages in the country ·         Mexico has a diverse population that includes descendants of Indian, Spanish, African, and Mestizo (mixed) races. ·         The division of the North and South of Mexico are similar to America’s “North” and “South” ·         This also reflects the economic cleavages of high and low class ·         Urban and Rural cleavages also exist ·         There is an amount of religious cleavages, however Roman Catholics make up 89% of the total population so it’s basically them against any other religion	Describe the results of these cleavages in political conflict and government response; include a description of women Political conflicts have come as a result of its diversity. Example:  Chiapas have engaged in armed rebellions against the government.
Political Parties (Identify/describe platforms of 3)	·         Mexico has three main political parties, the National Action Party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party, and the Party of Democratic Revolution. They have other minor parties but they usually align themselves with one of the three main parties for electoral purposes. National Action Party (PAN) ·         They adopt policies which address the immediate needs of the country as opposed to always being left or right wing. They follow the theory know as Christian Democracy which calls for using Christian ideals in addressing public policy. Outside viewers seem them as a conservative group. They advocate free enterprise, privatization, and trade agreements. (NAFTA) (Oppose state financed abortion, same sex unions) ·         Conservative, socially conservative.  Party of business interests and Catholic interests and values.  Promotes laissez-faire economic policies and giving more power to regional governments. Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) ·         Described as a state party. Was the first political party in Mexico and members split in the mid 1900’s to form the two other prominent parties. Has been plagued by corruption, illegitimate democracies, scandals, and notably an economic crisis in the 1970’s.  Its political ideology is right wing after most of its left wing members split to form the Party of the Democratic Revolution. Support privatization. ·         Centrist moderate, nonideological, adrift of ideological moorings.  Ideology is to maintain power and is changeable, adaptable, and opportunistic. Party of the Democratic Revolution (RDP) ·         Support Democratic Socialism which is(no clear cut definition, depends on situation) They are mostly left wing (Started by left wing members who left the IRP) Have held an unprecedented level of honesty and integrity which has given rise to their popularity recently. They are a relatively new party so there isn’t much info on them. ·         promotes social reforms, expansion of welfare programs, populist policies, economic nationalism, social justice
Electoral Systems	Describe the methods by which citizens elect their leaders.  Include length of terms, frequency of elections, etc… ·          For many years, the PRI enjoyed virtually unlimited access to the resources of the state to promote its candidates for public office. ·         With the onset of NAFTA, global pressure and pressure from educated élites led to changes towards more democratic processes.  In the early 1990’s, anti-corruption electoral reforms were implemented, making it more difficult for the PRI to stuff the ballot boxes and accept large campaign contributions.  ·         The Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) which monitors elections for secrecy and fairness, was strengthened, and eventually the PAN Party achieved its first presidential victory.
Role of Political Elites	Identify elites (people with political power) and describe the role Ø       Dominated by members of the military, often determine who becomes presidential candidates within parties. Hold power because they provide protection from guerilla groups and drug cartels.  There is almost no limitation on the military but a bill is currently being reviewed to make it illegal for them to replace the police as they have for the past decades.
Citizens	Describe attitudes towards government (political socialization) ·         Majority are poor farmers and sometimes sell crafts in local markets. ·         Like the “Indians”-United States stole their land. By annexing Texas in 1845 and instigating the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848, the U. S. seized half of Mexico’s national territory: disputed land in Texas, all the land that is now California, Nevada, and Utah, most of New Mexico and Arizona, and part of Colorado and Wyoming. Even today, the average Mexican thinks/believes the U. S. has plans to take over the rest of Mexico ·         Mexicans are highly supportive of the political institutions that evolved from the Mexican Revolution, and they endorse the democratic principles embodied in the Constitution of 1917. However, they are critical of government especially in creating jobs, reducing social and economic inequality, and delivering basic services. Most in government are viewed as distant, elitists, and self serving, if not corrupt. Most citizens consider attendance at campaign rallies and voting as ritualistic activities.	Describe types of political participation ·         Two types of political participation: 1.        ritualistic supportive activities (voting, attending rallies) 2.        petitioning or contacting public officials (usually for a benefit of some sort). ·         Even now, Mexicans’ concept of democracy emphasizes economic and social outputs rather than procedural liberties. (i.e. They want results from the government and do not care so much about how these results came about.) ·         Since 1994 Mexico has experienced a rebirth in political action among its’ citizens. The turnout of registered voters arose from 49 percent in the 1988 presidential election, to 61 percent in the midterm 1991 election, to 78 percent in the 1994 election- a 28 percentage point increase in six years. Though, the voting percentage did drop down to 64 during the 2000 presidential election ·
Interest Group System (identify pluralist or corporatist)	Identify key interest groups ·         A number of PRI –controlled interest groups dominate politics. This results in patron client networks where favors are exchanged between citizens and members of government.  ·         Each sector is dominated by one main organization. The Confederation de Trabajadores de Mexico (CTM) gas dominated the Labor Sector; the Confederation National Campesina (CNC) the peasant sector; and the Confederation National de Organzaciones Populares (CNOP) the Popular sector.	Describe their power and activities ·         Mexico is a corporatist system is which each citizen is expected to relate to the state through a single structure “licensed” by the state to organize and represent themselves (peasants, teachers, etc.) ·         Because the ruling party and the national legislature do not aggregate interests, the people rely on patron-client relationships to get their point across or just get what they want. Officials are rarely confronted by masses for requests.
Economic System (identify capitalist, socialist, etc.; identify major economic policies government has adopted)	Identify state-owned industries, foreign-owned industries, nature of privatization ·         The Mexican economy relies heavily on America. In the 1930s they tried to become more economically independent (virtually stopped getting silver from us) but by the 1940s they came crawling back and were even more dependant on us, and believe it or not, we were providing them labor. On the flip side, the number of immigrant workers in America from Mexico has topped ten percent (9.7 million) of their total population since 2002. ·         American investment in Mexico has become quite hefty- $115 billion since the mid-1990s. Their private sector is growing they are lending and borrowing credit which creates jobs and stimulates their economy. Despite the sharp fluctuations in Mexico’s economy since the early 1980s, that country is one of the preferred sites for investments by U.S. based multinational corporations, especially for investments in modern industries like petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, food processing, machinery, transportation, and athletic footwear. ·         The “Mexican Miracle” From 1940 well into the 1970s a strong elite consensus prevailed on the states’ role in the economy. The state basically controlled how businesses were going to be made, run, paid for, and dealt with. The result, from the mid 1950s to the mid 1970s, was the much touted “Mexican Miracle” of sustained economic growth at annual rates of 6-7 percent, coupled with low inflation (an average 5 percent between 1955 and 1972). By 1980 the gross national product had reached $2,130 per capita, placing Mexico toward the upper end of the World Bank’s list of semi-industrialized countries. ·         The “dark side” of the Mexican economy is that the poor remain desperately poor.  They have a low standard of living and there is a gap between urban and rural lifestyels. ·         There has also been some period of very high inflation. ·         Mexico remains HEAVILY in debt.
First World/Third World	Describe level of economic development (industrialized? developed? developing?) ·         Mexico is a developing country which is increasingly achieving economic stability and 11th largest in the world ·         The Mexican Peso, which has always been considered unstable and of low value but has been becoming more important on the international level	Identify 5 socioeconomic indicators that places the country in this category Socioeconomic indicators 1.        GDP per capita $13,244 (2009) 2.        Population below poverty line 18.2% 3.        Unemployment 6.2% plus considerable underemployment(26%) (2009) 4.        $18 billion in Remittances in 2005 (2nd largest source of foreign income) 5.        Agriculture: 4.1% Industry : 34.5% Services: 61.3% (2009 est.)
Supranational Organizations	Identify supranational organizations that country is a part of ·         Created NAFTA in 1992 with US and Canada and joined the WTO ·         Mexico has become a prominent player in the UN as a leader of the “Coffee Club”	Discuss impact of supranational organizations on sovereignty and on development ·         Mexico’s participation in supranational organizations is pretty much based on their economy ·         This international integration through supranational organizations has allowed Mexico to globalize ·         Involvement of Mexico has increased economic stability but also increased its dependence ·         Most importantly, Mexico as a whole is concerned as to whether their sovereignty will remain intact due to their economic dependence on other countries
Public Policy	Identify and describe 3 recent policies 1.        The Mérida Initiative is an attempt to combat the large amounts of drug trafficking, illegal smuggling, crime, and money laundering between the US and Mexico o        Mexico is responsible for 80% of meth in US and 1100 tons of marijuana are “imported” o        90% of cocaine in US comes through Mexico ·         Mexico is making a difference however by seizing a record 33.5 tons of cocaine by the Mexican Navy 2.    SWINE FLU!!!! ·         First detected on March 18, 2009 in Mexico City which was then “shut down” ·         Mexico reported the outbreak to US and the world health organization and lost a large amount of incoming tourism and trade 3.   Neoliberal economic development model ·         Stresses need for more freer rein to market forces ·         “technocratic free-market resolution” ·         Goal is to raise Mexico’s rate of economic growth ·         This has proved to cause more poverty and inequality problems ·         Growing consensus is that the government will have to take more action in Mexico’s economy	Identify and describe most pressing current problems Lack of jobs available Poor educational system Highly unequal distribution of income, poverty, inadequate health care Poor judicial system Drug trafficking Immigration
Other

MAO'S WAY

MAO'S WAY

Directions: Write a response paper concerning the following issue. Provide a limited bibliography outlining your sources.

How did Mao, who inherited a country beset by political, social and economic deprivation, mobilize the Chinese masses in just 30 years, and strive for an economic recovery that some analysts equate to the American industrial revolution, a socio-economic change that encompassed 150 years of development. 

Describe four factors that influenced Mao’s revival.


Due Monday April 4th

Russia after Beslan

Russia after Beslan

Sep 16th 2004 | moscow | from PRINT EDITION

“WHAT country will we wake up in tomorrow?” demanded a banner headline in Komsomolskaya Pravda, a daily that was once the official organ of the Soviet Communist youth movement. The best answer anyone can give, in the light of President Vladimir Putin's latest political moves, is that tomorrow's Russian state might look uncomfortably like yesterday's one. More clearly than at any time since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the spectre of absolute dictatorship seems to be inching closer, not fading away.

On September 13th Mr Putin stunned liberal opinion both in Russia and abroad by announcing a series of measures that will enhance the Kremlin's power and make life harder for dissenting voices. Inevitably, he justified them by citing the need to improve security after hundreds of adults and children had died in the school taken hostage by terrorists in Beslan.

Under the new measures, the governors of Russia's 89 regions will be chosen by the president (and then confirmed by local assemblies), instead of being directly elected. Mr Putin also plans to abolish the first-past-the-post contests that currently fill half the seats in the parliament. In future, the entire Duma will be made up from party lists, which will squeeze out independent legislators.

The trend of strengthening the Kremlin's control has been obvious ever since Mr Putin became president in 2000. He had already trimmed the wings of the governors by removing them from the Federation Council, the upper house of parliament; by appointing presidential emissaries to watch over them; and by centralising the appointments of regional police chiefs, prosecutors and security-agency heads. As for the Duma, it is already dominated by pro-Kremlin parties.

To many, Mr Putin seems to be exploiting Beslan to satisfy his appetite for power. Even if he really does want to correct the failures that the shootout exposed, his political tinkering will not help. On September 15th, America's George Bush expressed his concern about the undermining of democracy in Russia in unusually direct terms. But the Kremlin rejected all outside criticism.

As more details about Beslan story emerge, it is becoming clear that the lessons of previous hostage crises had not been learned. Local troops and authorities, including the FSB security service, were largely left to fend for themselves, with almost no federal officials lending support or experience. A haphazard approach to crisis management meant that under-equipped troops lost control of the situation to armed civilians. According to one report, some troops had to ask the civilians for spare bullets. Some federal orders fell on deaf ears.

Afterwards, agencies scrambled to shirk responsibility. This led to a bewildering range of official statements about how the terrorists got to the school, how many there were, and where they were from. An initial claim that there were ten Arabs among them, which Mr Putin seized on to link the attack to “international terrorism”, seems to have evaporated into thin air.

Does the president understand these weaknesses? Some other steps he is taking are designed to give the impression, to Russia and the world, that he does. He promised an inquiry into Beslan. He also promised a nationwide crisis-management system; a budget increase for the army and security services (an extra $1.7 billion had already been pledged last month, after two aircraft were blown up by suicide bombers); stiffer punishments for corrupt officials who give out false passports; a nationalities ministry to keep an eye on ethnic issues; and a federal commission for the northern Caucasus, whose main job will be “the improvement of the standard of living in the region.”

To Putin-watchers, the last item does signal a shift. Though he still blames foreign terrorists for stirring up trouble in the northern Caucasus, he also admitted in this week's speech that “the roots of terror lie in the continuing massive unemployment in the region, and the lack of an effective social policy”. He dwelt on that issue at length during a meeting of nearly four hours with foreign experts and journalists, just two days after the Beslan siege.

“Maybe he is only now realising that the poverty and social problems are the roots of these conflicts,” says Fiona Hill of America's Brookings Institution, who was at the meeting. Moreover, says Ms Hill, Mr Putin and his advisers understand how corruption has rotted the security services to the point of uselessness; they talk in private as well as in public of the need to “clean things up at the local level”. But there is no plan for how to do it. “This is an opening for the West,” she believes.

Indeed, to her and some others, Mr Putin's barrage of measures is an instinctive reaction of a leadership that fears it has lost control. Many of his moves look like frantic window-dressing. The nationalities minister will be Vladimir Yakovlev, an ex-governor of St Petersburg and one of Mr Putin's political foes. “He couldn't have chosen someone who knows less about the subject,” says Rustam Arifjanov, editor of Natsional, a magazine about Russia's ethnic groups.

Without a real anti-corruption strategy, says Alexander Belkin at the Council for Foreign and Defence Policy, a Moscow think-tank, “making changes to the structure of command at the top is worthless.” Mr Putin is trying to regain the upper hand in the northern Caucasus by sending his own Kremlin chief of staff, Dmitry Kozak, to oversee the region and the new federal commission. But Mr Kozak was also in charge of a grand plan for government administrative reform, and that now risks falling by the wayside.

As for the changes in the political system, they could eventually prove counter-productive, as well as irrelevant in the fight against terror. The more that Mr Putin consolidates power, the more he becomes the only person to blame when things go wrong. Muscovites are admittedly not a balanced sample of the country at large, but it says something that, in an opinion poll by the Moscow-based Levada Centre after Beslan, just a third of those questioned thought the terrorists “bear responsibility first and foremost” for the attack, with the rest split almost evenly between blaming the security services for being unable to prevent it, and “Russia's leadership, for continuing the war in Chechnya”.

If Russia's spooks know anything, it is how to keep unpopular regimes in power. But woe betide the country if ever-more draconian measures became Mr Putin's only way of staving off ever-growing public discontent.

Please post a response to the article, thanks!

Russian Politics

Russian politics

Feb 9th 2006 | moscow | from PRINT EDITION

EVER since his sudden emergence as Russia's president when Boris Yeltsin abdicated at the end of 1999, Vladimir Putin has baffled analysis. What does this ex-spy (if there is such a thing: he himself once said that “there are no former chekists”), who pays lip service to free markets, really stand for? What other leaders does he resemble? The Putinology game has continued for six years now.

Hardly anyone still hopes that Mr Putin can become the democrat he sometimes claims to be; even “managed democracy” is no longer touted much. Early talk of the “Chinese model”—liberalised economic policy, but a tight political grip—may have been harsh on Mr Putin politically but optimistic economically. The “Pinochet model”, which some advocated, took little account of Russia's great-power ambitions, and overestimated its governability.

These days, the comparison of choice among some Russian liberals is to the Brezhnev era of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Then, too, high oil prices and westward energy sales accompanied prickly international relations. Vladimir Ryzhkov, a member of parliament, likens Mr Putin's manipulation of the Kremlin's clans to Brezhnev's politburo management. (The depressing comparison has an upside: when oil prices fell, so did the Soviet Union.) But, to be fair, Mr Putin's run-ins with the West pale beside the cold war; and, despite his KGB background, Russians are much freer now than they were then. Mr Putin himself recently denounced “Sovietologists” who see Russia through a cold-war prism, such as those who want to eject it from the G8 group of rich nations. “The dog keeps barking,” the president said, “but the caravan keeps rolling.”

·Russia’s new Duma

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·The Kremlin

·The Kremlin

·Politics

·World politics

·Russian politics

Mussolini was once another fashionable comparator. But Yegor Gaidar, an architect of Mr Yeltsin's economic reforms, this week proposed an alternative: Weimar Germany. Mr Gaidar postulates that the pattern of the Yeltsin/Putin era—disorder and economic chaos, followed by authoritarianism and widespread imperial nostalgia—matches Germany in 1918-33. The implicit prognosis is unhappy: 15 years after military defeat in Germany, Hitler was elected chancellor, and it will soon be 15 years after the Soviet Union collapsed. “I hope it will not happen,” says Mr Gaidar, but “we should not close our eyes” to the danger. Lilia Shevtsova, of the Carnegie Moscow Centre, takes issue with part of the analogy: Mr Putin's “cocksure political class”, she says, is beyond imperial nostalgia and is busy reviving Russia's superpower status. Her preferred formulation is “bureaucratic authoritarianism”.

Another analyst, Andrei Illarionov, used to talk of the “Venezuela model”, in which state meddling in energy destabilises the economy (this may explain why he is no longer Mr Putin's economic adviser). Last week, he proposed a different idea: Nashism. Nash is Russian for ours; but it is also a play on Nashi, a youth movement founded by the Kremlin to help stave off an unlikely colour revolution, as well as on fascism. The most important value in Nashism, says Mr Illarionov, is loyalty to the regime; another feature is the unequal application of the law; and a main purpose is the redistribution of property. Nashism has several analogues, Mr Illarionov argues, in countries such as Libya, Chad and Syria.

Piffle, says Vyacheslav Nikonov, a Kremlin-friendly political analyst. He diagnoses Mr Putin as a “Gaullist conservative”: liberal in economics, but robustly independent in foreign policy. And Mr Nikonov adds that, whatever else he is, “Putin is 100% Russian.”

Read and post thoughts and critique.