Mobilization or Resignation? The Role of Political Efficacy in Russia's Authoritarian Reversal
Year: 2011
Type: preprint
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: What role has society played in ushering in Russia’s authoritarian reversal? Russia’s authoritarian backsliding has happened with the quiescence - or even outright support - of the population. One factor that has contributed to popular acceptance of authoritarianism is citizens’ low sense of political efficacy. Using quantitative measures of political attitudes and behaviors over time together with original data from in-depth interviews with ordinary Russians, this paper presents an analysis of the relationship between political efficacy and the actions and inactions taken by Russian citizens’ that have facilitated political elites’ ability to roll back democratic institutions with impunity. I show that efficacy attitudes have declined over time in Russia, that these attitudes influence individuals’ decisions about participating in politics, and that the failure of national elections to produce an incumbent turnover has contributed further to low levels of perceived efficacy.
Source: SSRN Electronic Journal
Author: Danielle N. Lussier
Institution: Grinnell College
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1556654569