The Challenges of Measuring Public Opposition in Authoritarian Regimes

It almost goes without saying that public opinion matters in a democracy, where leaders can be scrutinised in the free press and held accountable at free and fair elections. But public attitudes matter in authoritarian contexts too – as illustrated by how careful Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is being at the moment to control the media narrative around his war in Ukraine. 

So, what role does public opinion play in autocracies? Can we accurately measure public opinion in such settings? And what does the evidence suggest about the state of public opinion in Russia today?

To answer these questions, UCL Uncovering Politics is joined by Dr Katerina Tertytchnaya, Lecturer in Comparative Politics in the UCL Department of Political Science. 

Mentioned this episode:

• N. Buckley, K.L. Marquardt, O.J. Reuter, & K. Tertytchnaya., 'Endogenous Popularity: How Perceptions of Support Affect the Popularity of Authoritarian Regimes', Varieties of Democracy Institute 
• N. Buckley, K.L. Marquardt, O.J. Reuter, & K. Tertytchnaya., 'How popular is Putin, really?', Washington Post