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

Dialogue with the Dictator illuminates the ways in which authoritarian regimes structure interaction between citizens and leaders to simultaneously manage information dilemmas and build regime legitimacy. In doing so, it demonstrates the conditions under which managed participation can reinforce or jeopardize authoritarian control. Chapters uncover how these tools are viewed from the perspective of the public and the mechanisms through which they influence attitudes toward authorities. By cultivating limited opportunities for participation in otherwise closed political systems, autocrats bolster regime legitimacy while still maintaining control of the means and content of communication. These tools ultimately reinforce and entrench autocratic leaders rather than contributing to increased prospects for democracy - but not without consequences. Combining interviews, original surveys, and text analysis, the book provides a novel theoretical framework for understanding managed participation under authoritarianism and explains both its benefits and potential consequences for authoritarian regimes.

《與獨裁者對話》闡明了威權政權如何結構化公民與領導者之間的互動，同時解決信息困境並建立政權合法性。在此過程中，它展示了管理參與可能加強或危及威權控制的條件。各章揭示了這些工具從公眾的角度如何被看待，以及它們如何影響對當局的態度的機制。通過在原本封閉的政治體系中培養有限的參與機會，獨裁者在保持對溝通手段和內容的控制的同時，增強了政權合法性。這些工具最終加強和鞏固了獨裁領導者，而不是為民主增加機會，但也不是沒有後果。本書結合了訪談、原始調查和文本分析，提供了一個新的理論框架，用於理解威權主義下的管理參與，並解釋了它對威權政權的好處和潛在後果。