Dialogue with the Dictator: Authoritarian Legitimation and Information Management in Putin's Russia

Cover
Half-title page
Title page
Copyright page
Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
Acknowledgments
1 Introduction
	1.1 Problems of Authoritarian Rule
		1.1.1 The Problem of Information
		1.1.2 The Problem of Legitimacy
		1.1.3 Overcoming the Dilemmas: The Autocrat’s Democratic Playbook
	1.2 Why Russia?
	1.3 Contributions
	1.4 Outline of This Book
2 A Theory of Participatory Technologies
	2.1 Manufacturing Consent: Participatory Technologies as a Strategy of Authoritarian Legitimation
	2.2 Managing Information Problems in Nondemocracies
	2.3 Building Legitimacy in Nondemocracies
	2.4 Selective Participation and Contestation
	2.5 Awareness, Not Just Participation
	2.6 The Limitations of Participatory Technologies
	2.7 Conclusion
3 Varieties of Participatory Technologies in Nondemocracies
	3.1 Dimensions of Participatory Technologies
		3.1.1 Transparency of Informational Output
		3.1.2 Individualization
		3.1.3 Personalization
		3.1.4 Ideal Types in Theory and Practice
	3.2 Appeals Systems
		3.2.1 Russia
		3.2.2 China
		3.2.3 Singapore
	3.3 Public Consultations
		3.3.1 Russia
		3.3.2 Singapore
		3.3.3 China
	3.4 Call-In Shows and Government Blogs
		3.4.1 Russia
		3.4.2 China
		3.4.3 Kazakhstan
	3.5 Conclusion
4 The Direct Line with Vladimir Putin
	4.1 The Direct Line with Vladimir Putin: Russia’s Participatory Technology Par Excellence
		4.1.1 Changes and Continuities in the Direct Line
	4.2 The Direct Line as a Media and Political Event
	4.3 The Direct Line: Propaganda or Voice?
		4.3.1 Number of Questions: “Let’s Return to the Call Center”
		4.3.2 Content and Tone: “The President Is Listening”
			4.3.2.1 Content
			4.3.2.2 Tone
	4.4 Conclusion
5 Information Management, Performative Governance, and Image Making in the Direct Line
	5.1 Information Management in the Direct Line
		5.1.1 The Greatest Sociological Poll: Information Gathering in the Direct Line
		5.1.2 Controlling the Conversation: The Direct Line as a Tool of Information Dissemination
		5.1.3 Principal–Agent Problem: The Direct Line as a Monitoring and Accountability Tool
	5.2 Performing Good Governance? “I Promise Your Issue Will Be Resolved”
	5.3 Image Making in the Direct Line
		5.3.1 Putin the Listener: “I Am Listening”
		5.3.2 Putin the Problem Solver: “It Will Be Done”
	5.4 Conclusion
6 Manufacturing Consent: The Impact of Participatory Technologies on Political Attitudes
	6.1 Reviewing the Argument
		6.1.1 Voice and Input Legitimacy
		6.1.2 Issue Resolution
	6.2 Presidential Approval and the Direct Line
		6.2.1 Presidential Approval: Results and Analysis
	6.3 Perceived Opportunities for Voice
		6.3.1 Perceptions of Voice: Results and Analysis
	6.4 Potential Concerns
	6.5 Methodological Approach and Challenges to Inference
	6.6 Conclusion
7 Who Buys In? The Conditional and Polarizing Effects of Participatory Technologies
	7.1 The Exposure–Acceptance Model Revisited
	7.2 Measuring Political Sophistication and Trust in the Regime
	7.3 Experimental Design and Result
		7.3.1 Presidential Approval
		7.3.2 Perceptions of Voice
	7.4 Awareness or Participation? Viewership of the Direct Line and Presidential Approval
	7.5 Political Polarization and the Future of the Direct Line in Russia
8 Conclusion
	8.1 The Costs and Benefits of Participatory Technologies
	8.2 Implications and Avenues for Future Research
	8.3 Participatory Technologies, Accountability, and Democratic Erosion
	8.4 The Technological Revolution and the Expansion of Participatory Technologies
	8.5 The Medium Is the Message
Appendices
References
Index