Authoritarian Governance in the Post-Soviet Space: Responsiveness, Control, and Institutional Legacies

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

his panel explores key dynamics of governance, political responsiveness, and information control in authoritarian regimes, with a focus on the post-Soviet region. Specifically Central Asia and Russia. Across diverse contexts, the presentations examine how autocratic governments manage public expectations, control information flows, and navigate challenges in political accountability. One study investigates the relationship between clientelism and populism. Another examines political responsiveness in authoritarian settings, assessing how citizens perceive governance structures and differentiate between personal and programmatic political requests. A different contribution explores transparency as a tool of control, arguing that selective information disclosure (such as procurement data and bureaucratic accountability measures) helps autocratic leaders manage state agents and mitigate principal-agent problems. Lastly, another analysis challenges the notion that Islam uniformly promotes patriarchal gender attitudes by demonstrating that variations in gender attitudes in Central Asia stem from institutional differences between formal and informal religious structures, shaped by Soviet-era secularization policies.

Sub Unit

• Politics/Law

Chair

• Sarah Wilson Sokhey, U of Colorado at Boulder

Papers

• In the Shadow of Communism: Political Responsiveness in Post-Soviet Kazakhstan - Dima Kortukov, U of Alabama; Raushan Zhandayeva, George Washington U

• Transparency for Stability: A Longer Path to Accountability -

• Effect of Religious Institutions on Gender Attitudes - Marika Olijar, U of Wisconsin-Madison; Khasan Redjaboev, U of Wisconsin-Madison

• Can Clientelism Coexist with Populism? - Scott Radnitz, U of Washington; Masaaki Higashijima, U of Tokyo (Japan)

Discussant

• Sarah Wilson Sokhey, U of Colorado at Boulder