Sustaining Authoritarianism?: Mythmaking in the Legitimization of Russia’s War against Ukraine

• In Event: Resurgent Authoritarianism: Manifestations and Implications for Research

Abstract

This paper argues the merits of studying political mythmaking as an analytical instrument to assess the sustainability of authoritarian regimes. In closed authoritarian settings such as Russia, with its concomitant limited supply of reliable information, studying political myths propagated by the regime may offer useful clues to policy prioritizations and policy shifts. More specifically, the paper examines the legitimizing discourses prevalent in the propaganda spread by Kremlin.ru and other official channels after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched on February 24, 2022.

Author

• Bo Petersson, Malmo U (Sweden)