Narrative and Affective Origins of Misperceptions under Authoritarianism

• In Event: Emotions and Political Behavior under Authoritarianism

Abstract

The hallmark of contemporary authoritarian regimes is the manipulation of information space to build the leader image as a competent ruler. The success of the government propaganda, however, is not always guaranteed. Not only citizens can be skeptical towards pro-government information, but also they usually still have access to critical information channels. Thus, a lingering question is when and how authoritarian propaganda becomes successful at building misperceptions. In this paper, my goal is to show that the narrative and affective structure of economic propaganda matters. By delivering the economic propaganda through a narrative framework, authoritarian regimes can invoke positive emotions among their voters. This affective dimension, I argue, explains the appeal and success of government propaganda in authoritarian regimes. This paper relies on the study of pro-government economic misperceptions in Turkey to substantiate these arguments. First, I argue that the Turkish government uses a national developmentalist narrative to frame economic issues. Second, relying on representative data, I demonstrate that a significant portion of regime voters believe in this narrative. Finally, relying on experimental evidence, I demonstrate that being exposed to the developmentalist narrative makes government supporters in Turkey enthusiastic and hopeful. This affective dimension, I argue, explains the appeal of government propaganda in Turkey.

Author

• Aykut Ozturk, University of Glasgow