Civic Duty and Voting under Autocracy

Bibliographic Data

ID6384367
AuthorsOra John Reuter (0000-0002-2576-3018, National Research University Higher School of Economics, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume83
Issue4
Pages1602-1618
Publication date2021-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-3816 • E-ISSN: 1468-2508
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1086/711718
OpenAlexW3043829154
LanguageEN
Citations received18
References cited47

This article explores the duty to vote under electoral autocracy. Using original survey data from Russia, I present evidence that most voters feel an ethical obligation—a civic duty—to vote. I suggest that the duty to vote under autocracy is rooted not in norms of democratic participation but rather in reverence for the state. Because autocratic regimes often penetrate and politicize the state, I argue that opposition voters are less likely to revere the state and less likely than regime supporters to believe that voting is a civic duty. Using a previously validated measure of the duty to vote, I find evidence in Russia consistent with these arguments. The theory and findings suggest that authoritarian incumbents have an inherent mobilizational advantage: their supporters feel a duty to vote, but regime opponents do not. This may help explain why opposition parties under autocracy find it hard to turn out their supporters

Authoritarianism · Autocracy · Democracy · Duty · Economics · Law and economics · Obligation · Opposition (politics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Sociology · State (computer science · Voting · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Religion and Society Interactions

Tools

Open DOI