Authors

Discussion

The paper examines (de)politicization processes in authoritarian regimes by exploring the frames of responses adopted by civil society organizations (CSOs) representing persons with disabilities in Russia. By proposing an analytical framework allowing the study of hybrid welfare systems that encompass both neoliberal and statist principles, the paper investigates how CSOs responded to the efforts of (de)politicization initiated by different actors since February 2022. The analysis is based on thirteen semi-structured interviews with the leaders of disability representative CSOs collected in different Russian regions between May and July 2023 and interviews issued by media outlets between March 2022 and August 2023. Drawing on Foster et al. (2014), who theorize (de)politicization as part of governmentality (Foucault 2003), the paper distinguishes several frames of responses ranging between complicit and resistance politicization. Complicit politicization, conceptualized as reproducing the dominant political rationality, entails the support or avoidance by CSOs of the official agenda concerning the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Resistance politicization challenges the political discourse by denouncing the consequences of the war and of the recently adopted domestic inhumane policies affecting persons with disabilities The paper further elaborates on the symbolic meanings of (de)politicization that arise from the data analysis contextualized within broader public discourses.