Non-Compliance as Dissent: Societal Roots of Compliance with State Regulation

• In Event: Enduring Effects of COVID-19: A Global Perspective (Virtual Session)

Abstract

Global comparison demonstrates that Russia leads the world in non-compliance with public health policies designed to mitigate the effect of COVID-19. Viewed against, the centralized state capacity of the Russian regime, the inability to enforce public health regulations speaks to a gap in our knowledge of political behavior in strong authoritarian states. Rather than focus on state action or state capacity, this paper focuses on two societal factors that shape compliance with regulations: the social organization of enforcement and the culture of enforcement. These two factors focus attention on subcultures of compliance and non-compliance as well as norms associated with prosocial behavior: group identities and networks, beliefs, norms, values, and lessons past experiences. The empirical test of these theoretic propositions is based on a unique dataset of Muscovites whose previous compliance with state mandates have had a strong impact on daily life. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the limits of state regulation when it does not have the capacity to provide accurate information or challenge deeply embedded social norms designed to maintain distance between state and society.

Author

• Regina A. Smyth, Indiana University