What is it about?
This article presents an in-depth case study of how Russia's ruling elites deploy Internet votes to staff, and legitimize, advisory bodies to the government. In contrast to online petitions, online votes are aimed at aggregating citizen preferences not on issues but on candidates, i.e. on individuals who later act as political representatives. The article presents an in-depth case study of the first such Internet vote conducted in Russia in 2012 for the Russian President's Council on Human Rights. Grounded in extensive documentary analysis and in-depth interviews with activists, it concludes that ruling elites deployed the tool swiftly to (1) disempower oppositional activists and (2) convey to the mass public the image of a transparent, accountable, and responsive government.
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Why is it important?
This article is important because it provides unique insights in the functioning of Russia's semi-authoritarian ( or: consultative authoritarian) regime. It grants readers a look behind the scenes on how Internet votes are being presently organized, and instrumentalized by Russia's ruling elites.
Perspectives
This article is part of a larger project that investigates the use of Internet votes in Russia as a digital tool in the power struggle between ruling and oppositional elites. I have a second paper forthcoming on how Russia's oppositional elites organized Internet elections to create a "Coordination Council of the Russian Opposition".
Dr. Florian Toepfl
Free University of Berlin
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Innovating consultative authoritarianism: Internet votes as a novel digital tool to stabilize non-democratic rule in Russia, New Media & Society, November 2016, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/1461444816675444.
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