(iPoster) The Politics of Legitimate Repression

• In Event: Poster Sessions: Legislative Studies & Authoritarian Demands, Compliance, and the Politics of Protest
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Authoritarian Demands, Compliance, and the Politics of Protest

Abstract

Are citizens more willing to accept repression when it is selectively targeted and framed as legitimate? This question is difficult to answer because repression is rarely presented as repression. Instead, governments justify restrictive policies using legitimacy cues—targeting stigmatized groups, invoking security, or delegating authority to seemingly neutral institutions. I study how citizens evaluate restrictive policies depending on who is targeted and who imposes the restriction. The study uses two preregistered vignette experiments on nationally representative samples of Turkish adults. In the first study, respondents evaluate new regulations on civil society organizations that vary in target scope and the justification used by the government. In the second study, respondents evaluate bans on campus protests that vary the repressive actor and the scope of repression. I measure support for restrictions, perceptions of repression, and perceived impact on ordinary citizens. Comparing reactions across conditions allows us to estimate how governments generate support for repression by redirecting public attention and creating plausible deniability through targeting and institutional delegation. Our preregistered surveys in Turkey are currently in the field. Also, planned replications in Hungary and Slovakia will test whether these patterns generalize across contexts with different levels of polarization and institutional trust. Results will show how targeting, institutional authority, and political trust shape citizens’ willingness to accept or resist repressive policies.

Author

• Ilker Kalin, Matej Bel University