Influence of Discursive Divisions on Lawmaking in the Socio-Economic Sphere in the VII Convocation of the Russian State Duma

Russian Politics. 2026. Vol. 11. No. 2. P. 210–243.

Valiullina A., Maltsev A.

This study examines how discursive alignments during the 2018-2019 Russian pension reform debates correspond with subsequent legislative collaboration networks. Employing discourse-network analysis and frame analysis, we identify distinct parliamentary communities organized around interpretive frameworks rather than formal institutional boundaries. Inferential network analysis using Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGM) and Quadratic Assignment Procedure (MR-QAP) reveals that shared discursive positions significantly predict co-sponsorship patterns in socioeconomic legislation. Despite procedural constraints favoring the ruling party, opposition deputies coalesce around three principal frames: state economic intervention, constitutional social guarantees, and regional equity concerns. These discursive communities, anchored in common normative orientations and policy solutions, correlate with legislative behavior beyond initial deliberative contexts. The findings advance theoretical understanding of how parliamentary discourse structures informal coalitions within authoritarian legislatures, revealing that deliberative processes retain substantive association with policy outcomes even under conditions of restricted political competition.

Keywords: frame analysis, discourse network analysis, Exponential random graph models, authoritarian legislatures, Russian State Duma, legislative co-sponsorship, discursive communities