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Authoritarian Information Gathering amid Crisis

Sasha de Vogel et al.

Comparative Politics2025https://doi.org/10.5129/001041525x17519048352854article
ABDC A
Weight
0.50

Abstract

How do crises affect information gathering in authoritarian regimes? This study examines how crises impact appeal systems’ ability to collect information on everyday and crisis-related concerns. We argue that crisis immediacy and government repression shape the number and topic of appeals received. Utilizing a novel dataset of appeals submitted to Russia’s Presidential Administration, we analyze four crises: the 2018 pension reform, the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and the subsequent partial military mobilization. High-immediacy crises generate more crisis-related appeals, while repression suppresses everyday appeals on routine governance issues. This study contributes to scholarship on informational autocracies by highlighting the vulnerability of information-gathering institutions. Focusing on citizen behavior rather than regime incentives, we offer insights into how individuals utilize appeals systems under crisis conditions, enriching understanding of state-society dynamics and the limitations of consultative institutions in autocratic contexts.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5129/001041525x17519048352854

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@article{sasha2025,
  title        = {{Authoritarian Information Gathering amid Crisis}},
  author       = {Sasha de Vogel et al.},
  journal      = {Comparative Politics},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5129/001041525x17519048352854},
}

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Authoritarian Information Gathering amid Crisis

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.