Ja, vi kan höra det: Putin talar som tsaren

Rysslands president Vladimir Putins tal påminner om de tal som tsaren Alexander I höll, säger Anneli Portman som har gått igenom offentliga tal för sin doktorsavhandling.
Portman säger att Alexander I talade om Finlands övergång från svenskt styre till Ryssland 1809 i rätt liknande tongångar som Putin gjorde i mars då Krim anslöts till Ryssland.
FM Anneli Portman disputerar 11.4.2014 kl. 12 vid Statsvetenskapliga fakulteten, Helsingfors universitet på avhandlingen "From Might to Mandate - Values in rulers' public speeches in Finland 1809-2000".
Hennes doktorsavhandling publiceras i serien Publications of the Department of Social Research och säljs av Unigrafia, Helsinki.
Doktorsavhandlingen publiceras också elektroniskt och finns tillgänglig i E-thesis.
Opponent är professori Lilach Sagiv, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, och kustos är professor Anna-Maija Pirttilä-Backman.
This text is going to looked at the values expressed in rulers’ (Czars and Presidents) public speeches in Finland from 1809-2000. Society’s values are manifested and upheld also through rituals and ceremonies, e.g. recurring public speeches. These speeches are most often held by the head of state, acting as a spokesperson for the entire society. Three types of written collections of speeches (N=355) directed to the entire population were used: Parliament Opening Speeches (1809-2000), Prayer Day Declarations (1812-1999) and New Year’s Speeches (1935-2000). The texts were analyzed using qualitative theory-driven content analysis. For the analysis a coding manual was created, which was based on Schwartz’ Theory of Basic Human Values and on previous Finnish value research.
The results show that rulers present themselves as promoters of the society’s goals; they also act as creators and protectors of societal cohesion, which results in the emphasis on Self-transcendence and Conservation values. Towards the end of the time included in this study there is a marked rise in Universalism values, as questions of nature conservation and maintenance of global peace come to the forefront of the larger political agenda. Overall changes of values in the data follow the predicted pattern of societal pluralization, but not of secularization.
The findings confirm the applicability of the survey-based Schwartz Value Theory also for archival value research. However, the findings also demonstrate that the two value types found in previous Finnish studies (Spirituality, Work-related values) are also necessary to depict the promoted values. Contrary to the theory-based expectations, Self-enhancement values and Self-direction values are only presented as values for the collective, not the individual.
The Czars and Presidents mostly differ on the scope of their value emphasis. In their speeches the Czars emphasize values relating to spirituality, and to the in-group and its welfare. The Presidents, appeal to a wider variety of values, reflecting more the contemporary political situations, e.g. Work-related values are accentuated especially in the times of crisis (e.g. war, recession).
The results of this study underline the importance of the context in value research, and contribute to the widening of value research into political and archival data. This study adds to the research of how societal cohesion is rhetorically maintained. This thesis bridges social psychology and political history, thus also adding to historical research, but results can also be applied in larger societal context to better understand the links between leaders and their followers, be they democratic rulers or not.