Academic research on political myth remains relatively sparse, and the literature that does exist is scattered across several disciplines, despite the influential work of Roland Barthes in Mythologies and earlier semiological insights by Ferdinand de Saussure. This episode of The IR thinker examines what political myth means in theory and how it operates in practice, focusing in particular on its role in legitimising power in contemporary Russia and shaping narratives around Vladimir Putin, Russian society and the war in Ukraine.
Bo Petersson is Professor of Political Science at Malmö University in the Department of Global Political Studies. He is also Director of the Russia, Ukraine and the Caucasus Regional Research Centre in Malmö, and his work focuses on political myth, legitimacy and leadership in Russia and its neighbourhood.
Publications:
The Putin Predicament: Problems of Legitimacy and Succession in Russia
Rising from the Ashes: The role of Chechnya in contemporary Russian politics
Nationalism and greatness: Russia under the Putin presidencies
Content
00:00 - Introduction
01:50 - Definition of the Political Myth
07:15 - Shortcomings of the Concept of Political Myth
08:13 - Popularity of the Political Myth
09:02 - Political Myth and Legitimizing the Power in Russia (Putin, Medvedev)
17:24 - Is Putin Aware of the Political Myth Concept?
19:11 - Putin vs. Medvedev
20:46 - People Around, Institutions, Ministries
24:28 - How Leaders Take Control Over the Political Myth
26:50 - Stability, Ups and Downs of Putin vs. the Political Myth
30:10 - The Political Myth and Russian Society - Unity vs. Polarisation
33:17 - Putin and the War in Ukraine
35:08 - Russians Living Abroad
39:05 - Russian Identity and the Political Myth
41:32 - Social Media and the Political Myth
46:26 - The Political Myth as a Research Framework
49:16 - Prof. Petersson Research Methods - Sources of Data
50:52 - RUSSIA, UKRAINE AND THE CAUCASUS REGIONAL RESEARCH
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