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11 - Conclusion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2023

Erin Baggott Carter
Affiliation:
University of Southern California
Brett L. Carter
Affiliation:
University of Southern California
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Summary

Our theory treats nominally democratic institutions as constraints that autocrats struggle to loosen and citizens’ beliefs as the central battlefield on which the struggle for political change is waged. After reviewing the book’s key findings, in this chapter we use our theoretical framework to suggest a series of important questions about autocratic politics in the early twenty-first century. We explore how the world’s autocrats are attempting to shape their citizens’ beliefs by weaponizing distinctly modern technologies, not just propaganda and censorship. We also discuss how the world’s autocrats are attempting to loosen the electoral constraints that bind them. Although this book is about propaganda in autocracies, it has important implications for politics in democracies, especially as a series of “populist-authoritarian” leaders take power across Europe and North America. We argue, in particular, that Xi Jinping’s propaganda strategy helps us understand the process of democratic erosion underway across the world. We conclude by discussing the book’s implications for public policy.

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Propaganda in Autocracies
Institutions, Information, and the Politics of Belief
, pp. 443 - 466
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Conclusion
  • Erin Baggott Carter, University of Southern California, Brett L. Carter, University of Southern California
  • Book: Propaganda in Autocracies
  • Online publication: 18 July 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009271226.015
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  • Conclusion
  • Erin Baggott Carter, University of Southern California, Brett L. Carter, University of Southern California
  • Book: Propaganda in Autocracies
  • Online publication: 18 July 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009271226.015
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Conclusion
  • Erin Baggott Carter, University of Southern California, Brett L. Carter, University of Southern California
  • Book: Propaganda in Autocracies
  • Online publication: 18 July 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009271226.015
Available formats
×