War, Memory, and Political Engagement: Understanding Regime Support in Russia

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

This panel examines the complexities of public opinion formation, political engagement, and regime support in Russia, emphasizing how attitudes toward the state evolve in wartime. It challenges conventional democratic models of political support, arguing that high approval ratings in autocracies often reflect a system justification process, wherein citizens rationalize their support for the regime to maintain positive self- and group-images, even when policies contradict their preferences.

The first presentation, Who Rallies to Support War? Evidence from a War-Spanning Panel Survey in Russia, investigates the evolution of war support using panel data. It explores the social, political, and economic characteristics of those who sustain or withdraw support, offering insights into the mechanisms of wartime political allegiance and the psychological adaptation to state narratives.

The second presentation, Foundations of Regime Support and Opposition in Russia: The Role of Family Memory, examines the intergenerational transmission of political attitudes. It explores how personal and family histories shape regime support and opposition, linking political socialization to broader system-justifying tendencies in authoritarian settings.

The final presentation, Participation in Public Opinion Polls as Political Engagement in Russia, challenges the view of polling as a passive state-controlled tool. It argues that participation can be an act of political expression, shaped by strategic adaptation and system justification.

Together, these studies provide a nuanced perspective on political engagement in Russia, demonstrating how citizens navigate, justify, and contest their relationship with the regime in an authoritarian environment during the war.

Sub Unit

• Politics/Law

Chair

• Marina Vyrskaia, U of Helsinki (Finland)

Papers

• Who Rallies to Support War?: Evidence from a War-Spanning Panel Survey in Russia - Ora John Edward Reuter, U of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Bryn Rosenfeld, Cornell U; Timothy M. Frye, Columbia U

• Participation in Public Opinion Polls as Political Engagement in Russia: Evidence from Online and Phone Surveys - Marina Vyrskaia, U of Helsinki (Finland)

• Foundations of Regime Support and Opposition in Russia: The Role of Family Memory - Aleksei Gilev, U of Helsinki (Finland)

Discussant

• Maria Snegovaya, Johns Hopkins U