The Eclipse of the State?

An analysis of the Russian oil and gas industry through the institutionalist approach

Abstract

The present text is developed in the field of institutions studies and State-Society relations. We aim to systematize the role of the Oil and Gas industry in the economic recovery of the Russian Federation. Our goal is to understand the causal relation between the corporatist regime established by Putin and economic development. The comparative analysis between two distinct moments of the federation, first the Yeltsin administration, followed by the rise to power by Putin, will help us indicate different postures taken by the State towards society, and which actions render which results. We have adopted the theoretical basis of the institutionalist approach, which indicates the permanency of state capacity to coordinate economic development, even though in a context of globalization. We sought to use the Russian case study as empirical evidence validating the theory. Therefore, corporatist structures of power are understood here as independent variable, while economic development is our dependent variable, in a causal relation to be verified in the case study. Results indicate the partial validation of the hypothesis, as the corporatist regime represents a possible way to maintain – to a degree – state capacity in a context of globalization, going against perspectives according to which, in this new context, the State would progressively lose its autonomy regarding public policy for economic development.