Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy

‘Putin’s Rules of the Game’

Tuesday, April 13, 2021, By Lily Datz
Share
Faculty VoicesMaxwell School of Citizenship and Public AffairsOp-EdOpinionRussian politicsU.S.-Russia RelationsVladimir Putin
Brian Taylor

Brian Taylor

Brian Taylor, professor of political science in the Maxwell School, wrote an op-ed for Foreign Affairs titled “Putin’s Rules of the Game.” Taylor is an expert on Russian politics and recently authored “The Code of Putinism,” published by Oxford University Press.

While 2020 was a difficult year around the globe, Taylor writes that for Russian President Vladimir Putin it was a bright spot. Putin managed to solve his “2024 problem” by manufacturing a constitutional overhaul that nullified his previous presidential term limit, allowing him to potentially stay in power until 2036. Taylor says that Putin’s solution to the problem was both for his own benefit and the benefit of Russia’s political and economic elite, as it quelled fears of a future succession crisis that could threaten their power and wealth.

Taylor writes that the constitutional referendum does very little for most Russian people. This is a risk given Putin’s steadily declining popularity in recent years, Taylor says. He notes that years of a weak economy and poor leadership have taken a toll on the spirit of many Russians, which Taylor believes does not bode well for stability in the future. “Meaningful political stability is achieved not by keeping one ruler in power for decades and decades but by building a system that moves from leader to leader without major trauma,” Taylor writes.

Taylor also states that claims asserting that Putin’s “2024 problem” solution cements his rule until 2036 are wrong. He writes that, despite the constitutional change, Putin will continue to face voting challenges and backlash on the rapidly growing Russian internet. However, Taylor believes that if Putin remains in power for an additional 16 years, the poor state of U.S.-Russia relations will only continue. Therefore, Taylor writes that it is likely that the Biden administration will increase its attention on countries neighboring Russia to “push Putin’s buttons.”

Ultimately, Taylor believes that an eventual post-Putin era does not equate to a democratic breakthrough in Russia. “Historically, the end of a personalistic regime often leads to another authoritarian government. Still, nearly every leadership change in Russia and the Soviet Union over the last century has led to major shifts in domestic or foreign policy. The same will likely be true after Putin,” Taylor writes. In the end, Taylor says it is up to the United States to “work with Russia where it can and contain Russia where it cannot” in order to mitigate successional turmoil when change does arrive.

To read his essay in its entirety, visit the Foreign Affairs website.

Syracuse University media relations team members work regularly with the campus community to secure placements of op-eds. Anyone interested in writing an op-ed should first review the University’s op-ed guidelines and email media@syr.edu.

  • Author
  • Faculty Experts

Lily Datz

  • Brian Taylor

  • Recent
  • Eight New Recruits Begin Campus Peace Officer Academy
    Thursday, May 19, 2022, By Christine Weber
  • Media Tip Sheet: Consequences of China Lockdown
    Thursday, May 19, 2022, By Vanessa Marquette
  • Dean Rajiv ‘Raj’ Dewan to Step Down as Dean of the School of Information Studies
    Thursday, May 19, 2022, By News Staff
  • 2022 Graduates Reflect on Service as Academic Coaches
    Thursday, May 19, 2022, By Ellen de Graffenreid
  • Funding Expands for Newhouse Professors’ Work on Technology to Combat Fake News
    Wednesday, May 18, 2022, By Wendy S. Loughlin

More In Media, Law & Policy

Funding Expands for Newhouse Professors’ Work on Technology to Combat Fake News

Two professors from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications who are working on the development of technology to detect manipulated media and combat the spread of fake news are supported by a subcontract that now tops $1.1 million, thanks…

As the School of Education’s Italy Program Returns, Sara Jo Soldovieri ’18, G’19 Reflects on Its Influence

Now a doctoral student researching inclusive education, Sara Jo Soldovieri ’18, G’19 was a sophomore when she took Literacy, Inclusion and Diversity in Italy, a study abroad short course offered by the School of Education and Syracuse Abroad. Soldovieri matriculated…

New Law Scholarship Honors the Ongoing Legacy of the Hon. Theodore A. McKee L’75

Syracuse University College of Law is pleased to announce the establishment of the Hon. Theodore A. McKee L’75 Endowed Law Scholarship with a generous gift from Syracuse University Trustee and College of Law Board of Advisors Member Richard M. Alexander…

College of Law Holds Commencement for Class of 2022

On Friday, May 6, the College of Law held Commencement for its 199 J.D. and 33 LL.M. graduates. The event, the first in-person Commencement since 2019, featured the first cohort of graduating online J.D. students. Luke Cooper L’01, CEO of…

College of Law Graduates Inaugural Class of Its Groundbreaking Online JDinteractive Program

On May 6, students in the inaugural class of Syracuse University College of Law’s first-of-its-kind JDinteractive (JDi) program graduated alongside their peers in the college’s residential J.D. program. JDi, a fully ABA-accredited program, was the first to combine live online…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2022 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.